PHOTOS: Donald Trump, Ivanka, & Family Arrive in New Jersey for Vacation

President Donald Trump left the White House this evening and arrived in New Jersey with members of his family to start his 17-day working vacation. Although some criticized his lengthy stay, the vacation is actually necessary because of renovations that are being done at the White House.

Here are photos of Trump and his staff and family’s arrival in New Jersey, along with more details about the vacation and what will be happening over the next 17 days. We will update this post with more photos as they are available, and share more photos from Trump’s vacation over the next 17 days.

In this first photo, President Donald Trump is boarding Air Force One on August 4, as he leaves to begin his 17-day working vacation. The vacation will be spent at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

In the photo below, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner walk to Marine One to depart the White House for the working vacation.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said: “The president and his staff are moving out of the West Wing for roughly a two-week period due to the necessary renovations.”

In this next photo, you can see storage containers being delivered to the West Wing of the White House on August 4, as workers prepare to complete maintenance and renovations. According to Town & Country, the renovation is massive and more out of necessity than cosmetic. Renovations typically happen in August, but this is far more extensive than normal. It will include:

• Refurbishing cracked stairs leading into the White House that haven’t been restored in 64 years.
• Upgrading the HVAC system, which is 24 years old. This system runs 24/7. It will cost $1.965 million and the system is “well past its life cycle and will fail in the near future.”
• Exterior electricity upgrades, door resurfacing, power washing
• Fixing leaks in the West Wing’s lower press area
• Removing temporary stairs near the press briefing room
• Painting and renovating colors. Paint refreshment will cost $275,000.
• Switching out curtains and carpets. The carpet replacement will cost $1.17 million and costs are “in line, or under, … past three prior administrations,” according to the General Service Administration spokesperson.
• Renovating the Navy Mess kitchen

In this next photo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly walks to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base. Kelly, Kushner, and Porter accompanied Trump as they left the White House.

No one was allowed to stay at the White House during the renovations, Town & Country reported. Even West Wing staff not traveling with Trump were relocated to the Eisenhower Executive Building. The renovation was originally approved by the Obama administration.

In this next photo, Trump arrives in New Jersey with his grandchildren, Arabella Kushner and Jospeh Kushner.

Trump has come under criticism for this 17-day vacation because of how much he had criticized Obama’s vacations in the past. In 2013 he tweeted: “Pres. Obama is about to embark on a 17 day vacation in his ‘native’ Hawaii, putting Secret Service away from families on Christmas. Aloha!” In 2014 he tweeted: “President Obama has a major meeting on the N.Y.C. Ebola outbreak, with people flying in from all over the country, but decided to play golf!”

Supporters of Trump are defending his vacation, saying it’s actually a working vacation and he’s forced to take it because of the renovations. And it’s true that staff are not allowed to stay in the White House during these major renovations.

In the photo below, Trump arrives in New Jersey with his grandchildren, Arabella Kushner and Joseph Kushner. At the time of publication, Melania and Barron Trump had not yet been seen arriving. But Melania will be on this vacation too and staying in Bedminster also.

In the photo below, President Trump escorts his grandchildren after departing from Air Force One. The vacation will last 17 days, but Trump has said it’s a working vacation.

Also accompanying Trump were his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner. In the photo below, you can see them arriving in New Jersey while Ivanka carried their youngest baby. March 27 was Theodore James’ first birthday.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrive in New Jersey. Ivanka is wearing a beautiful red dress with a bright floral design, which gives a great contrast to all the men in suits around her.

Ivanka shared this photo on Twitter before they left:

We will share more photos as they are available.