A former ESPN and Sports Illustrated star criticized President Donald Trump for golfing as military action against Iran continues.
On Monday, Rick Reilly posted on X, sharing a picture of Trump driving a golf cart while saying that former President George W. Bush respectfully halted his time on the green during the Gulf War.
“I recall that Bush 43 stopped playing golf during the Gulf War out of respect for the sons who were coming home in boxes,” Reilly said. “Meanwhile, Trump starts a war and then tools around in his golf cart, throwing his ball out of bunkers. What a soulless little punk he is.”
Bush explained in a 2008 Politico interview why he quit golfing after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed the top U.N. official in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
“I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man’s life,” he told the outlet. “I was playing golf — I think I was in central Texas — and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, ‘It’s just not worth it anymore to do.’
“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he continued. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”
During a phone interview with CBS News on Monday, Trump said the U.S. war with Iran is nearly over.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” the president said, speaking from his Doral, Florida, golf club. “[Iran has] no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.”
Since launching the strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, the price of oil nationwide surged past $100 per barrel and U.S. gasoline prices at the pump hit $3.60 on Thursday, AAA reported.
As of March 10, seven Americans have died in the war and 140 U.S. troops have been injured, according to PBS News.
More on Politics
Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.