A recent video of Donald Trump golfing appears to show the U.S. President engaging in dubious behavior with his caddie.
Accusations of the 79-year-old cheating are not new – there’s even a book about it – but this latest footage may be hard for him to dispute. The video, taken during Trump’s brief visit to Scotland at Turnberry, shows him in action.
The clip shows Trump arriving in his golf cart and stopping near a bunker where two caddies are waiting. One caddie is then clearly seen placing a ball in the light rough, just shy of the sand trap.
Trump then gets out of his cart and walks toward the ball. The video ends before Trump takes his shot, but social media users have already drawn their conclusions. “Watch it carefully, the caddie drops the ball for him. Trump has to cheat at his own course,” one commented.
“This is how you win 30 club championships,” another user posted. A different response stated: “Undeniable proof that Trump cheats at golf.”
Trump also faced backlash for sinking a putt and having his caddie retrieve the ball from the cup. This is the second time Trump’s golfing antics have sparked controversy.
Rick Reilly’s 2019 book ‘Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump,’ released during Trump’s first term, provided a harsh critique of Trump’s golfing behavior.
“To say ‘Donald Trump cheats’ is like saying ‘Michael Phelps swims,'” Reilly wrote. “He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching, and he cheats when they aren’t.
“He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that’s how he plays golf… if you’re playing golf with him, he’s going to cheat.”
Trump insists his official handicap is 2.8, but Reilly had a sharp response to that assertion, suggesting if that were true then the late Queen Elizabeth was a “pole vaulter.”
Setting aside his behavior on the course, Trump proclaimed his venue “is the best resort in the world and it’s one of the greatest courses in the world,” upon arriving in Scotland.
However, despite its worldwide reputation, it hasn’t hosted an Open Championship since 2009. R&A chief Mark Darbon recently met with Eric Trump to address this matter.
“They understand clearly where we’re coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we have a good dialogue with them,” Darbon said, before stating decisively: “The decision around where we take our championship rests with us.”
