Remember when that Centurion Lounge failed its food inspection a couple of months ago? (don’t worry, it passed after a re-inspection.) Looks like they’re in good company – the restaurant of a Trump National Golf Course just failed theirs, as well. And they flunked it pretty badly, too, with a score of 32 out of 100.
To avoid foodborne illness, government entities want to ensure that restaurants and similar establishments are clean and free from pests, keep foods at appropriate temperatures, avoid potential cross-contamination, that their employees know the rules for safe food handling, etc. Therefore all establishments in the U.S. that serve/sell food are required to undergo regular health inspections, as per their local city/county Department of Health.
If the establishment passes inspection, they’re “good to go” until next time. If they fail the inspection, they’re advised to fix the problems ASAP and undergo re-inspection. And if the inspector finds things that are massively wrong, they have the authority to shut the place down until the problems are fixed.
Trump National Golf Course, located in Bedminster, NJ, has been owned by President Donald Trump since 2002 and has been in operation since 2004. It features several dining rooms that look over the 36-hole golf course and their website boasts “delectable dining options” with “the finest and freshest ingredients.”
On Monday, May 5th, during a routine inspection of the facility, the Somerset County health inspector discovered 18 violations, 9 of which were considered “critical.” They included:
- Improper separation of raw meats & raw eggs from ready-to-eat foods
- Food unprotected from contamination (including expired milk, raw meat stored improperly and a dishwasher that may not reach the required temperature to ensure sanitation)
- Poor cleaning/sanitation of food contact surfaces
- Inappropriate refrigerator temperatures
- Food improperly labeled
- Inadequate hand washing facilities (including sinks without soap or paper towels)
- Inadequate toilet facilities
- Inappropriate care of equipment, utensils and linens
- Lack of appropriate signage as required by law
The chef in charge was also found to fail to “demonstrate knowledge of food safety.”
Here’s the inspection report from the County. The restaurant was given a “Conditionally satisfactory C” placard (restaurants must post their placard [with their rating of A, B, C, etc.] in a prominent location) and was told they “Must fix all violations and pay reinspection fee at municipal building prior to reinspection.”
With so many critical violations, the country advised that they would visit again in 2 days. By that Wednesday, May 7th, most of the violations had been fixed. However, the inspector found some new violations, 2 of which were considered critical.
The Club’s general manager, David Schultzenhofer, was quoted as saying the poor inspection was “clearly nothing more than a politically motivated attack.”
“Never before have we witnessed such visceral hostility from the Health Department,” he said, adding, “We operate one of the most immaculate golf facilities in the country, and we take immense pride in our standards of cleanliness, safety and hospitality.”
Geez, he sounds like his boss, doesn’t he? I love it when he and his people try to make any bit of negative feedback “politically motivated.”
Of course, there’s nothing politically motivated about a restaurant being caught doing a crappy job of maintaining proper health and hygiene standards, regardless of who owns it. Of the roughly 115 retail food establishments inspected in Somerset County that month, Trump’s club received the lowest score, 32 out of 100. All but one other venue (which received a score of 33 – it has similar issues to Trump’s National Golf Course’s restaurant) scored 60 or higher, and most scored in the 80s and 90s.
The restaurant was re-inspected on last Wednesday, June 4th, by the same inspector. This time, she found that things were more in compliance, and the inspection showed better results. There were still issues with some cleaning supplies and maintaining the sanitation of food contact surfaces, but the inspector’s visit at that time earned the club a “Satisfactory B” rating (86 out of 100).
This isn’t the first time one of Trump’s properties failed inspection. His Mar-a-Lago resort was cited for multiple violations just days before Trump was scheduled to host the Japanese prime minister in 2017. (Mar-a-Lago club’s most recent inspection, dated May 28, 2025, found no health code violations.)
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