Donald Trump offered a strange explanation for why he supposedly plays golf by the rules. This came during a speech in Ireland on Saturday. The president acknowledged that he knows how to cheat on the course but cannot because of his own security.
Donald Trump says Secret Service agents are the reason he cannot cheat on the golf course
President Donald Trump turned his security team into the punchline when he discussed his golf habits. “I can’t cheat,” he declared, pointing to the roughly 250 Secret Service agents around him. He then admitted the temptation exists, saying, “It’s not that I wouldn’t cheat.” However, he explained that moving the ball would not go unnoticed (via The Daily Beast).
The remark lands differently because accusations about Trump’s golf game have followed him for years. Sports writer Rick Reilly devoted substantial attention to the subject in his 2019 book, Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump. Reilly portrayed Trump as someone who routinely manipulates his game, writing that he “cheats like a three-card monte dealer.”
Reilly also described several alleged tricks, including throwing or kicking the ball and altering its position. At Winged Foot, where Trump holds membership, caddies reportedly became so accustomed to watching him move his ball back onto the fairway that they nicknamed him “Pele,” after the football legend.
Golf remained part of Trump’s Ireland trip, where the president spent two days. He was scheduled to attend the Irish Open at Doonbeg resort. The sport has long been intertwined with his public persona, but it has also repeatedly drawn attention to how often he plays.
That backdrop made a Saturday Truth Social post particularly notable. Trump uploaded a video of himself on a golf course and lamented that he rarely gets enough time to play, writing, “Such a great golfer. Too bad I have very little time to play!!!” His complaint does not quite match his schedule, however, as Trump has reportedly spent most weekends on the course this year, along with several weekdays.
