Trump accused of ‘not working hard enough’ as schedule reveals he averaged one event a day in January

President ‘sitting around watching Fox News and hate-tweeting all day’, former ambassador suggests

Donald Trump participated in just one event per day on average throughout January, according to his public schedule, amid mounting accusations he is not working hard enough as president.

So far this week, Mr Trump’s calendar showed he took part in one intelligence briefing, a lunch with vice-president Mike Pence, and a private Trump campaign fundraiser at his own Washington hotel.

That followed a week in which four days were made up of no more than a single lunch with Mr Pence and another intelligence briefing.

He has also failed to make any form of public appearance since Friday, a stretch in which he has sent more than 45 tweets.

Overall, Mr Trump’s public schedule showed a total of 32 events in the 31 days throughout January – not including his daily intelligence briefings, personal fundraisers or private White House lunches.

That compares with 39 events Mr Trump had on his schedule through January 2018.

A former staffer on Capitol Hill, Joe Cirincione, tweeted on Wednesday: “Has anyone else noticed that Donald Trump has stopped working? For weeks, he’s had little or nothing on his schedule.”

Former US ambassador to Russia Dan Shapiro suggested the president “sitting around watching Fox News and hate-tweeting all day” was better than “doing serious work to advance a terrible agenda”.

The White House noted he did have a call on Wednesday with Juan Guaido, who the US has recognised as the interim president of Venezuela, and the president’s calendar states he is due later on Thursday to sign an executive order and meet with the vice-premier of China.

It comes after Axios reported last year the president was often only beginning his official day by 11am, in order to give him more time to watch TV, make phone calls and send tweets in what White House officials dubbed “executive time”.

Before winning the presidency, Mr Trump regularly boasted about his work ethic, casting his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton as someone who would struggle to keep up with the demands of the job.

“I will be your champion and I will work hard to be your champion,” he told a rally in 2016.

A year earlier, he told a convention that as president he would be working so hard, “I wouldn’t leave the White House”.

The White House has been contacted for comment.