Speculation over surprise Trump visit to DC ends at golf course

For much of Monday, Twitter was buzzing over former President Donald Trump's apparent surprise visit to Washington, DC.

Following a diligent tracking job by a YouTuber called Penguinsix, the public was able to see a grainy video of Trump disembarking in casual attire from his jet, marked with his initials DJT, at Washington Dulles International Airport on Sunday evening.

This was only his second visit since leaving office. 

In the end, the reason for the trip, according to the ex-president, turned out to be to play golf at one of his golf courses in northern Virginia. However, until that was reported, speculation over the purpose of his visit was wide-ranging.

Based on his casual clothing, many suggested that his arrival in the capital was not by choice, with some saying he must have been pulled off his golf course in New Jersey (where the flight was tracked from), either due to an ongoing Department of Justice Investigation or due to a health emergency that might have sent him to the military hospital Walter Reed.

Others speculated that he might be trying to flee the country, given the size of the airport and his growing legal concerns.

What was clear was that the usually grandiose ex-president did his best to arrive quietly, disembarking from the plane at a different location from where it had landed (as per the video, the plane landed and then driven to another part of the airport) and also not making a public announcement before his arrival.

Eventually, Trump announced that he was on a "working" trip to the DC area. "Working today at @TrumpWashingtonDC on the Potomac River. What an incredible place!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. 

By the end of the day, the Associated Press had reached the golf course to take pictures of him, his middle son Eric and his entourage driving their golf carts. It's unclear if they ever played. The photos reignited speculation over the members of the entourage and the purpose of the gathering.

Though Trump was the story's subject, arguably the saga's star was the YouTuber Penguinsix, whose videos typically focus on much more mundane happenings around the capital, from weather to daily politics. 

But on Sunday, he doggedly followed the path of the ex-president, tracking his flight from New Jersey to Dulles, then following the plane to another part of the airport after it landed and changed locations, then parking in the Dulles Airport's employee parking, and then getting footage through a fence of the ex-president's attempted quiet arrival.