LIV Golf: Trump Welcomes His Saudi Masters to New Jersey

While Joe Biden was criticized for his recent fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Donald Trump has given a big, wet, sloppy kiss to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tour “sportswashing” campaign. The third tournament of the new pro golf league‘s tour is being held at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Mr. Trump may have embraced the insurgent tour because he’s peeved at the U.S.-based PGA for pulling its 2022 championship tourney from Bedminster, but he has backed upstart sports leagues before, and this is not the first time Donald Trump has taken Saudi money. Far from it. Saudi cash saved Trump from bankrupcy, and, despite anti-Saudi rhetoric during his 2016 campaign, he and son-in-law Jared Kushner have kept their shoddy businesses afloat on an Arabian Gulf of Saudi money.

There have been strong objections to Trump’s embrace of Saudi golf money by the PGA, of course, but also by survivors of the victims of 9/11, and National Press Club members who remember the “grisly-bonesaw” murder of their collegue Jamal Khashoggi.

More:

“Trump Seeks Money and Revenge in Hosting the New Saudi Golf League,” John Cassidy, The New Yorker

“Hosting Saudi Golf Tourney, Trump Has Forgotten He Used to Blame Kingdom for 9/11,” Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone

Updates:

“9/11 families rip Saudi-financed golf tour ahead of finale at Trump resort,” Olafimihan Oshin, The Hill

“Trump: LIV Golf tournament a ‘great thing’ for Saudi Arabia,” Jared Gans, The Hill

“LIV Golf’s latest stop brings together Trump, Saudi Arabia and plenty of criticism,” Bryan Armen Graham, The Guardian

“The marriage of LIV Golf and Donald Trump is the stuff schemes are made of,” Eamon Lynch, Golfweek

“Bill Maher mocks Trump over golf course comments, suggests US trade him for Griner’s release,” Chloe Folmar, The Hill

“LIV Golf Tournament at Trump Club Sees Thin Crowds, $1 Tickets: Reports,” Jason Lemon, Newsweek

“LIV Golf spectator yells, ‘Do it for the Saudi royal family’ at Phil Mickelson,” Riley Hamel, Golfweek

“Golf takes back seat at Saudi-backed, Trump-hosted event,” Bryan Armen Graham, USA Today

Updated Updates:

“LIV Golf sellouts bailed on the PGA Tour. Now they want back in?” Sally Jenkins, Wasghington Post

“Judge rules LIV golfers can’t play in PGA Tour postseason,” TuAnh Dam, Axios

Related:

“Donald Trump’s Sketchy Playbook for Blowing Up a Pro Sports League,” Ian Ward, Politico

“Remembering The Tour De Trump, Donald Trump’s Failed Bike Race,” Patrick Redford, Deadspin

“Does Saudi Arabia Own Donald Trump?” NotionsCapital

“Tiger Woods turned down offer in ‘neighborhood’ of $700M to $800M to play in Saudi-backed tournament, Greg Norman says,” Sarakshi Rai, The Hill

“Ivana Trump was buried near the first hole of Trump National Golf Club. Her gravesite could offer tax breaks for the business.” Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert and Isabella Zavarise, Business Insider

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You Paid $41 Million So Trump Can Golf In New Jersey

“Rep. Leonard Lance, a New Jersey Republican, announced Wednesday that the small town of Bedminster — population 9,000 — has been designated a priority for the Secret Service.

The township is home to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, one of Trump’s favorite retreats. His daughter Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were married there, and Trump summoned advisers there for post-election transition planning.

With the official designation as a presidential residence, Congress appropriated up to $41 million to cover security costs incurred between the Jan. 20 inauguration and Oct. 1, which starts a new fiscal year. Trump’s residences in Florida and New York already get such funding.

The costs are incurred by state, county and township law enforcement officers when Trump comes to town, as he did this month for the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament.”

— “Trump’s Third Home Away From Home To Cost Taxpayers Millions,” Peter Overby, NPR News

More:

“15 Surprising Facts About Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey,” Ashley Hoffman, TIME Magazine

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Goodbye Palm Beach; Hello Bedminster

In May, as Florida heats up, flocks of migrating golf bums head north. This weekend our Golf-Bum-in-Chief has landed in New Jersey‘s Trump National Bedminster Golf Club. You can join him for a mere $350,000 initiation fee and thousands a year in dues, food, drinks, and facilities charges. Not to mention golf bets and tips for caddies, waiters, and parking valets.

While the stop-gap federal spending bill will reimburse Bedminster Township police overtime for round-the-clock security, it does nothing to mitigate Somerset County resident headaches due to the road closures, traffic congestion, and inevitable protests attendant on the Garden State presidential golf excursions.

We hope all this doesn’t scare the goats. Mr. Trump keeps about 4 of them on the luxury property to pretend it’s a farm, which lowers his taxes from about $80,000 to less than $1,000 a year. Does this mean there’s fresh chèvre and cabrito on the club’s menu?

More:

“6 Things to Know About Bedminster, NJ, Trump’s Summer Getaway,” James Ramsay, WNYC

Updates:

“Trump reportedly hits the links in NJ,” Brandon Carter, The Hill

“Could Trump golf course get slapped with a tax to cover cost of his N.J. visits?” Claude Brodesser-Akner, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

“Anti-Trump protesters take to Bedminster, gear up for summer rallies,” Nick Muscavage, Courier News and Home Tribune

“‘Spend Your Free Time In A Red State’: A motorcade of protesters rolls by Trump’s N.J. property,” John Wagner, Washington Post

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