Donald Trump gestures as he plays golf.
Credit: aol.com

When it comes to buying access and influence with Donald Trump, lobbyists and corporate CEOs who want things from the government can skip the campaign middleman and put money directly into Trump’s pockets while getting access to him at his most relaxed and sociable. It’s as easy—if not cheap—as getting a membership at one of his favorite golf clubs, and now we know some of the people involved, because USA Today has done important investigative work digging through golf handicap records to identify members of Trump’s clubs, whose members are not public:

Members of the clubs Trump has visited most often as president — in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia — include at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there, according to scores they posted online. […]

The review shows that, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the […]