Former President Donald Trump played in Thursday’s practice round ahead of this weekend’s LIV Golf pro-am tournament, which is being held at his Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, N.J. Afterward, he gave his thoughts on the new rival to the PGA Tour.
“I’ve known these people for a long time in Saudi Arabia. They’ve been friends of mine for a long time, and they’ve invested in many American companies,” Trump said of the tour that’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, per ESPN. “They own big percentages of many, many American companies. Frankly, what they’re doing for golf is so great. What they’re doing for the players is so great, the salaries are gonna go way up.”
Much criticism of LIV Golf has centered on the Saudi government’s influence, pointing to past human rights issues, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul—which CEO Greg Norman minimized by saying, “We’ve all made mistakes”—or the belief that the government played a role in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The families of 9/11 victims have spoken out publicly decrying the league and the players who participate in these tournaments, and Trump deflected when asked to consider their feelings on the matter, disputing the notion that Saudi Arabia was involved in the attack.
“Nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately, and they should have, as to the maniacs that did that horrible thing to our city, to our country, to the world,” Trump said. “So, nobody’s really been there.
“But I can tell you that there are a lot of really great people that are out here today, and we’re gonna have a lot of fun, and we’re gonna celebrate,” Trump said. “Money is going to charity—a lot of money’s going to charity—and you have really the best players in the world, many of the best players in the world. And soon, you’ll probably have all of them. Because, remember this: if there’s a merger, the people that didn’t come, they will never get anything except a ‘thank-you’ from people that took advantage.”
