Trump goes golfing with aides – but no golf clubs – drawing comparisons to ‘mobsters’ and Ocean’s Eleven

President’s trip to DC area sparks speculation

Donald Trump was spotted on the greens of his Virginia golf course on Monday in a sighting that prompted wild speculation due in no small part to recent events.

The former president was seen in pictures touring the grounds of the Sterling property alongside a number of men including Brad Enie, his director of grounds for the club. It wasn’t immediately clear, but pictures appeared to indicate that Mr Trump was inspecting or giving a tour of his club’s golf course with Trump Organization figures.

“Working today at @TrumpWashingtonDC on the Potomac River. What an incredible place!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Donald Trump talks to aides and advisers at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia (AP)

That wasn’t enough of an explanation for Twitter, however, which began a frenzy of speculation early on Monday morning after it was announced first that Mr Trump was flying to the DC area.

The trip to DC, of course, occurred as Mr Trump is thought to be the subject of two separate criminal investigations — one into the potentially illegal retention of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, and another regarding the events of January 6.

Despite the former probe dominating headlines thanks to an unprecedented FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago on 8 August, the latter has also chugged along in recent days and on Monday developed further with subpoenas issued for dozens of Mr Trump’s top associates.

Trump and his son Eric seen leading a convoy of golf carts (AP)

As such, Twitter users joked — or insisted seriously, in some cases — that the Sterling golf course meeting was actually a secret rendezvous between Mr Trump and his attorneys, or even had a more sinister explanation. Some suggested that the president was trying to escape the prying eyes of the DoJ, a confusing hypothesis that didn’t seem to explain why he would need or choose to hold such a meeting in the DC area, given his other properties up and down the east coast.

“That’s a private meeting, not a golf game, today in rainy Sterling, VA,” tweeted one social media sleuth. “Who is with him and why no golf clubs?”

“So, Donnie Soprano and da boys got together at da Banda Bing golf club to sort though some . . . problems,” quipped Glenn Kirschner, an MSNBC legal analyst.

Another Twitter user added, “[t]his smacks of wanting to have a conversation where they feel safe the feds aren’t listening”.

Even Mr Trump’s former attorney and “fixer”, Michael Cohen, got in on the action.

“Many are asking me why Mr. Mushroom Putter was at his DC Golf Course (which is really in Virginia)? He says to play golf. My sources say he was meeting with 2 lawyers in secrecy and didn’t trust being at their offices. Notice there are no golf clubs on the cart!!!” wrote the ex-attorney.

The account Duty to Warn tweeted: “Trump was photographed today on his golf course, not golfing. He continued not golfing the rest of the day. It’s like they’re plotting. Like an Ocean’s Eleven reboot.”

Mr Trump and his allies continue to insist that the bevy of investigations he now faces are mere attempts at politically-motivated prosecution, even as his Republican allies in Congress struggle to provide excuses to explain why “top secret”-classified documents would have been present at his Florida property without the government’s consent.