Donald Trump has chosen golf over most other things over the years. And this week, he appears to have made a particularly stark choice.
According to NBC News, Trump declined to attend what’s known as the “dignified transfer” of four U.S. soldiers who died last month in a training exercise in Lithuania on Friday. Instead, Trump chose to attend a Thursday night dinner reception in Florida for LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed golf league with which he is associated. Trump’s Doral golf course will host a LIV Golf tournament this weekend.
Presidents do not always attend such ceremonies, but in some cases, they do. But Trump is under fire for flying to Florida for a golf tournament while not only skipping the ceremony but also seeming to flee the chaos wrought by his tariffs, including a two-day stock market meltdown.
Last month, when the four soldiers in Lithuania were still missing and not yet confirmed dead, Trump was asked about it in the Oval Office and appeared unaware of the situation.
Our president spent our money to fly AF1 to Miami and then spent more of our money flying Marine 1 to promote his golf course where he will attend a closed-door dinner promoting a Saudi golf league that makes him money.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) April 4, 2025
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The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s history with LIV Golf, in which he has business ties with the league. At the same time, his administration is presiding over whether to approve its proposed merger with the PGA Tour. The PGA spent a long period of time attacking LIV, which is almost entirely backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, over the Saudis’ human rights record before later agreeing to the merger.
Trump pushed the merger during his time out of office and has continued to do so now that he’s back in office.
Trump will visit Saudi Arabia on his first foreign visit in May, as he did during his first presidency.
“The deep-rooted, much-debated relationship between President Trump and Saudi Arabia will be front and center again on Friday, when Trump’s Florida golf course hosts a three-day tournament for the upstart LIV Golf circuit that is almost entirely funded by the kingdom’s sovereign-wealth fund,” the Journal story said.
Critics say the golf tournament violates the Constitution’s emoluments clause. Ethics adviser Richard Painter told the Journal, “If they’re paying money to the Trump golf course, then that’s an emolument.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
