Former President George W. Bush defended the commander-in-chief’s right to hit the links in an interview with the Golf Channel set to air Tuesday.
“I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don’t. I think he ought to play golf,” Bush said. “Because I know what it’s like to be in the bubble. I know the pressures of the job, and to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet.”
President Barack Obama played the 100th round of golf of his presidency last summer, according to CBS, and was criticized earlier this summer for playing golf on Martha’s Vineyard while the crisis in Syria escalated. Fox News host Greta Van Susteren went as far as to suggest that a photo of Obama missing a putt was “staged.”
For his part, Bush quit golf in 2003 “in solidarity” with the families of soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq.
The interview is scheduled to air on “In Play With Jimmy Roberts” at 10:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.
