Golf has a long history in the White House — but for Trump, it's more than a pastime

For overmuch of the past century, play has ne'er been that acold from the White House. That surely remains existent these days, arsenic Donald Trump is an progressive golfer, playing regularly connected weekends astatine Mar-a-Lago. People are noticing. As Seth Meyers joked recently, "According to caller investigation by the Washington Post, President Trump has spent one-third of his days successful bureau astatine his play courses. And I deliberation we mightiness beryllium amended disconnected if we could someway get that up to three-thirds."

For Trump, play is not conscionable astir relaxation, it’s portion of his mindset. When questioned astir the quality of accepting a $400 cardinal Qatari level arsenic a gift, Trump cited the golfer Sam Snead successful response. According to Trump, Snead’s motto was, "When they springiness you a putt, you say, ‘Thank you precise much.’ You prime up your ball, and you locomotion to the adjacent hole." Trump besides likes to get concern done connected the play course. In a caller interrogation with the Atlantic, Witkoff described however helium learned from Senator Lindsey Graham however Trump uses his play days. According to Graham, "You person breakfast, and it goes arsenic agelong arsenic Trump wants it to go. Then you play golf, and past you person lunch." During these sessions, "you speech astir each these things." Witkoff absorbed Graham’s teachings and utilized his play and meals clip with Trump and Graham to research imaginable medication roles, with Witkoff concluding, "I deliberation I’m the guy, possibly Mideast envoy."

Trump’s mixing golf and enactment differs from immoderate of his predecessors, who thought it was important to person separation betwixt their authoritative duties and their clip connected the links. William Howard Taft loved the game, but his predecessor Teddy Roosevelt warned Taft against being photographed successful his play duds, arsenic it mightiness origin Americans to deliberation helium was not taking his enactment seriously. As Roosevelt, who was himself partial to tennis, warned, "I ne'er fto friends advertise my tennis, and ne'er fto a photograph of maine successful tennis costume appear."

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Taft’s successor Woodrow Wilson played play 1,200 times arsenic president. He adjacent played successful the snow, utilizing red-painted balls for casual shot spotting. Unlike Trump, though, Wilson did not similar talking concern portion golfing, truthful helium usually played with his idiosyncratic physician, Cary Grayson, who had recommended that Wilson instrumentality up the game. Although Wilson tried to debar enactment connected the links, sometimes pressing matters interceded. After the 1916 election, Wilson learned connected the play people that helium had won California and would unafraid a 2nd word arsenic president.

STERLING, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES - MAY 27 - Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump visits the driving range, meets fans and watches Round 2 of LIV Golf Washington DC 2023 ((Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))

In opposition to Roosevelt’s concerns, Wilson received praise for his regular playing. In July of 1917, Cleveland Moffett wrote successful McClure’s, "And however inspiring contiguous is the illustration of Woodrow Wilson, who regards regular carnal workout arsenic a ineffable duty, not to beryllium interfered with nor neglected. Rain oregon shine, immoderate the unit of events, the President of the United States takes his exercise."

The thin-skinned Warren Harding was little fortunate. He did not similar that comedian Will Rogers utilized to marque amusive of Harding for a big of things, including golf. Once, erstwhile Harding learned that Rogers planned to mock Harding’s play crippled astatine a amusement Harding planned to attend, Harding refused to go.

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Dwight Eisenhower was besides subjected to galore jokes astir his golfing. One of the champion ones was the bumper sticker that read, "BEN HOGAN FOR PRESIDENT. IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A GOLFER, LET'S HAVE A GOOD ONE." Another gag that made the rounds was that Eisenhower "invented the 36-hole enactment week." It was not acold off: Ike played astir 800 rounds arsenic president, which averaged retired to astir 2 18-hole rounds a week.

Ike was unperturbed by the criticism. He had putting greens installed astatine some the White House and astatine Camp David. He besides had a regular foursome known arsenic "The Gang," oregon "The Augusta Gang," including Coca-Cola Chairman Robert Woodruff, Frankfort Distilleries President Elles Slater, and W. Alton (Pete) Jones, president of Cities Service Company, present known arsenic CITGO. But Ike didn’t privation to bash concern erstwhile helium was golfing. In fact, helium praised The Gang successful his memoir arsenic "men, who, already successful, made nary effort to nett by our association."

When Eisenhower’s Vice President Richard Nixon became president, helium occasionally played with celebrities, including Jackie Gleason, Jimmy Stewart, Bob Hope, and Fred MacMurray. He adjacent played with Snead, who accused Nixon of throwing a shot retired of the unsmooth and onto the fairway. Still, Nixon’s wide awkwardness inspired this gag astir National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger seeing the president successful diversion apparel and asking however it went: "I changeable a 128 today," Nixon said. "Your play crippled is getting better," Kissinger replied, lone to perceive back, "I was bowling, Henry."

"Watergate Secrets and Betrayals" volition beryllium released connected August 8, the 50-year day of President Nixon’s resignation.  (WatergateSecrets)

While funny, the joke was unfair. Nixon was a coagulated golfer who erstwhile broke 80 portion successful retirement. Still, Nixon looked down connected those who played excessively much. Once, erstwhile asked astir Vice President Spiro Agnew, Nixon was dismissive, saying, "By immoderate criteria helium falls short. Energy? He doesn’t enactment hard; helium likes to play golf."

Like Nixon, Ronald Reagan enjoyed the crippled and often played with celebrities, including Walter Annenberg and Warren Buffett. But Reagan mostly stopped playing play aft an October 1983 play that showed the difficulties of playing play and being president. Reagan was connected a play sojourn to Augusta with Secretary of State George Shultz, New Jersey Senator Nicholas Brady, and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan. On Saturday morning, helium had been awakened to perceive developments regarding the caller communist coup successful Grenada. Reagan and his squad planned an penetration to liberate Grenada, but went up with their crippled truthful arsenic not to awesome that thing was afoot. At that game, National Security Adviser Bud McFarlane kept interrupting to springiness updates connected the unfolding situation. To marque matters worse, the crippled was besides interrupted by an equipped antheral who crashed done the gates and took hostages astatine the clubhouse, demanding to talk to the president. Reagan called the clubhouse via vigor telephone but yet did not talk to the man, who was yet arrested.

That night, Reagan was awakened again, with worse news. Hezbollah terrorists bombed the Marine office successful Beirut, sidesplitting 241 U.S. personnel. Reagan returned to Washington without playing his scheduled Sunday game. As a effect of the disastrous weekend, helium decided to curtail his golf, saying, "Playing play is not worthy the accidental that idiosyncratic could get killed."

FILE - This December 1986, record photograph shows archetypal woman Nancy Reagan holding the Reagans' favored Rex, a King Charles spaniel, arsenic she and President Reagan locomotion connected the White House South lawn.  ( (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File))

George H.W. Bush besides had to navigate the question of however to negociate play and statesmanlike business. Bush had precocious standards for play and wanted to play with radical who could support up some successful accomplishment and with what helium called "speed golf," completing full rounds successful 2 hours. Bush’s biggest golfing situation arsenic president came aft Iraq’s penetration of Kuwait successful August of 1990. He rapidly bushed of the media shouting Iraq-related questions astatine him portion helium played. When reporters peppered him with questions connected the archetypal tee astatine a crippled that August, helium uncharacteristically snapped, saying, "I speech to them each greeting astatine 5:30 and I’m not going to instrumentality immoderate much comments up here, though." He aboriginal denied getting testy, saying, "I’ve ne'er been huffy astatine you. I conscionable don’t similar taking questions connected superior matters connected my vacation."

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Unlike Bush, Bill Clinton saw the play people arsenic a bully spot to behaviour business. While inactive successful Arkansas, helium would effort to rise run funds from golfing companions. As president, helium played regularly with Democratic fixer and firm committee staple Vernon Jordan. Jordan would invitation salient concern executives similar GE’s Jack Welch, Warren Buffett, and Microsoft’s Bill Gates – contempt the information that Clinton’s Justice Department was investigating Gates’ company. In the crippled with Gates, Clinton took a mulligan astatine the outset, thing for which helium became good known.

Clinton’s successor, George W. Bush, had seen the situation of managing play and the presidency firsthand. He was playing with his begetter connected the time that the elder Bush said helium would nary longer instrumentality superior questions connected the play course. Bush supported his dada successful his typically humorous way, telling 1 chatty reporter, "Could you hold until we decorativeness hitting astatine least? My crippled is truly bad. But erstwhile you’re talking successful the backmost swing, it gets adjacent worse."

President Bill Clinton, Vernon Jordan 2000 Presidents Cup - October Robert Trent Jones Golf Club successful Gainesville, Virginia, U.S. PGA TOUR Archive via Getty Images (Getty Images)

After W. became president, helium got immoderate pushback from the property for his play habit. In August of 2002, Bush was astir to tee disconnected successful an aboriginal greeting crippled erstwhile helium was asked by a newsman astir a horrific violent autobus bombing successful Israel. Bush responded, "We indispensable halt the terror. I telephone upon each nations to bash everything they tin to halt these violent killers. Thank you. Now, ticker this drive." The video of this unfortunate clip was shown galore times connected tv and was featured successful Michael Moore’s anti-Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. According to statesmanlike play adept Don Van Natta, "that volition spell down successful statesmanlike play histories, possibly 1 of the worst moments of each time."

Bush stopped playing play successful 2003, during the 2nd Iraq war. In 2008, helium revealed his reasons for doing truthful successful an interrogation with Mike Allen, past of POLITICO: "I don't privation immoderate ma whose lad whitethorn person precocious died to spot the commander-in-chief playing golf. I consciousness I beryllium it to the families to beryllium as, you know, to beryllium successful solidarity arsenic champion arsenic I tin with them. And I think, you know, playing play during a warfare conscionable sends the incorrect signal."

Barack Obama played play much than 300 times arsenic president, and he, similar Trump, liked to bash concern connected the course. Like Clinton, helium played with Vernon Jordan successful high-profile foursomes, which included Clinton, Tiger Woods, hoops prima Ray Allen, erstwhile Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He besides played with immoderate apical CEOs, including erstwhile UBS CEO and Obama fundraiser Robert Wolf, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, and Obama donor and Silver Lake Co-CEO Glen Hutchins. He besides tried to enslaved with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner connected the links. According to Boehner’s memoir, they kept their conversations to play portion connected the course, but engaged successful indebtedness ceiling discussions successful the clubhouse, agreeing to proceed with behind-the-scenes negotiations.

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JERSEY CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 28:  Presidents Obama, G.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton grin portion connected the archetypal tee during the archetypal circular of the Presidents Cup astatine Liberty National Golf Club connected September 28, 2017 successful Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Shelley Lipton / Sportswire via Getty Images)

Playing with Boehner helped propulsion guardant fund talks, but it besides raised immoderate hackles connected Obama’s broadside of the aisle. Cultural professional Elayne Rapping said of the erstwhile "cool" Obama, "Now he’s playing play with John Boehner, which is astir the astir uncool happening determination is." Senate Democrats seemed annoyed arsenic well. When 1 of them asked his Democratic colleagues if immoderate of them had ever played play with the president, not 1 raised his hand. In different Obama crippled with a Republican lawmaker, Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss scored a hole-in-one, prompting him to quip, "I told him since I made the hole-in-one, helium ought to springiness america everything we privation connected entitlement reform."

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Obama and Trump some played a batch of golf, but Trump likes to speech astir the crippled much than immoderate of his predecessors. In 1 gathering with CEOs, Trump goaded GE’s Jeffrey Immelt into telling the communicative of a crippled successful which the president deed a spread successful one. According to Immelt, Trump had said, "You realize, of people that I’m the richest golfer successful the world." Trump past corrected Immelt – slightly: "I really said I was the champion golfer of each the affluent people, to beryllium exact, and past I got a spread successful one."

In his archetypal term, Trump had a play simulator installed successful the White House that would let him to play the world’s astir celebrated play courses virtually. When Joe Biden, a coagulated golfer successful his younger years, moved into the White House successful 2021, helium did not deliberation overmuch of Trump’s play acceptable up, saying, "What a f***ing a**hole." Even though Biden did not play that overmuch portion successful the White House, helium maintained that helium could person beaten Trump connected the links, and needled his rival for being little than honorable astir his play score, saying successful 2024, "And where's Trump been? Riding astir successful his play cart, filling retired his scorecard earlier helium hits the ball?" The rivalry was truthful heated that claims of who had the superior crippled really came up successful their 1 and lone statement successful June of 2024. Biden claimed that "I got my handicap, erstwhile I was vice president, down to six," but Trump was dubious, saying, "I’ve seen your swing. I cognize your swing."

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Golf adjacent played a relation successful the choky predetermination of 2020. Multiple reports suggested that Trump neglected his statement prep successful favour of much playing time. Trump was besides told by his son-in-law Jared Kushner that helium had mislaid Pennsylvania portion gearing up to tee disconnected astatine the seventh spread successful a November, 2020 game. Even though this quality doomed his reelection prospects, Trump chose to bask the remainder of his game, finishing the past 12 holes earlier heading home.

It's a harmless stake to expect that Trump volition support doing concern connected the links passim the remainder of his term. Yet portion the frequence of his playing is successful enactment with a fig of his predecessors, his obsession with play – and his bringing of the crippled into the mode helium approaches his presidency – surpasses them all.