President Trump accused of cheating at golf
Matthew Clark @politicschatter.com
June 10, 2017, 08:04:41 PM GMT
During President Donald Trump’s campaign, his team pushed forward the idea that the then-Republican presidential nominee would “reshape his persona” to be one more becoming of the United States commander-in-chief, reported The New York Times. “The negatives are going to come down, the image is going to change,” former campaign chief Paul Manafort told about 100 members of the Republican National Committee in April 2016, referring to the candidate's unfavorability rating.
Dodging birdiesBut can the controversial leader turn his image around? Even beyond the rhetoric, Trump has often been criticized for his behavior in his personal life, and that extends to leisure. Trump’s own website describes him as “an avid golfer” and the owner of 18 golf courses across the globe. Yet he’s dodged multiple accusations that when it comes to the course Trump is cheating.
His course, his rulesRetired boxer Oscar De La Hoya told the Associated Press that he saw Trump cheat on the links when he played a round of golf with the tycoon at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles in 2014. "Yes, I caught him," De La Hoya said in May 2016. "It was unbelievable. But I guess it was his course, so it was his rules."
Where things lieAt the heart of De La Hoya’s claims is the accusation that Trump would hit his ball first, often sinking it in the brush or in water. He’d go off to find the ball ahead of everyone. The ball, once everyone had convened, would be conveniently situated just feet from the hole. De La Hoya said that Trump wouldn’t even complete the hole: "And by the way I'm picking it up," he said Trump told the group of golfers. "It's a gimme."
Lyin’ Oscar
Trump has denied the accusations, saying he’s never played with the boxer. “Not only didn't I cheat, I didn't play with him," he told AP in response. ''I have never played a round of golf with this guy.'' Trump told the news agency that his respect for the game was too ardent for him to cheat at it, and that he is good enough to have won a number of club championships.
'Great golfer'However, in a video unearthed by TMZ, Trump is shown teeing off at his Los Angeles course using a hybrid club as De La Hoya watches with other onlookers. At the 15th hole, he swings and puts the ball mere feet from the hole. De La Hoya calls Trump a “great golfer” in a staged interview after the shot.
Bunkered downBeef with a professional boxer aside, De La Hoya isn’t the only one to accuse Trump of cheating at golf. The Washington Post conducted an entire investigation into accusations that Trump was cheating in a September 2015 article. Sportswriter Rick Reilly, who caddied for famous professional and amateur golfers, told the paper, “When it comes to cheating, he’s an 11 on a scale of one to 10.”
Life of the courseReilly also said that Trump is one of the more enjoyable men in the world to have around for a game of golf. “He had an amazing time. Trump played with confidence and bravado, he tipped the caddies, he gave great pointers that helped his comrades with problem swings,” The Washington Post says. ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and FOX News anchor Bret Baier are both complimentary of the candidate’s golfing charisma.
'His caddy cheats for him'Just like in politics, it seems Trump has amassed both lovers and haters in a divisive polemic. Samuel L. Jackson told a United Airlines magazine that he was “for sure” better at golf than Trump because Jackson said he “doesn’t cheat.” Fellow actor Anthony Anderson corroborated Jackson’s claims, telling Seth Meyers on his eponymous late night show that “I'm not going to say Trump cheats. His caddy cheats for him."
Twitt-for-tatTrump didn’t take too kindly to the accusation and went on one of his famous Twitter takedowns, saying that to the best of his knowledge he had never played with Jackson and that he “does too many TV commercials — boring. Not a fan.”
OverestimatingEven Trump’s own longtime butler, Anthony Senecal, hinted in an interview with The New York Times that Trump could not be as good at golf as he thinks. Senecal recalled times when Trump would hit balls into the Intercoastal Waterway from his Mar-a-Lago property, asking how far he had hit. “It’s like 275 yards,” Senecal would respond, knowing the actual distance was 225 yards.
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