On Sunday, a video emerged that appeared to show President Donald Trump’s caddie dropping a golf ball to help him cheat. According to one bestselling Trump biographer, the president has long paid caddies to look the other way as part of a mission to project his “supposed virility.”
In the video in question, Trump drives his golf cart into the rough as a pair of caddies fan out, apparently searching for a lost ball. But then, one of the caddies tosses a ball onto the edge of the green, where it will be easier for Trump to manage. Author Seth Abramson, who penned three bestselling books on Trump’s corruption, says that this is one of the president’s old plays.
“What people miss about this video is Trump slowing down his cart (which he shouldn’t be driving in the rough) because he knows the ‘drop’ is about to come,” posted Abramson over the video. “Trump pays his caddies to give him fake golf scores he can then use as political chits underscoring his supposed virility.”
“If Trump were forced to play a round of golf at a new course without a caddy he’d bribed,” Abramson continued, “with a monitor watching him closely, and without the ability to drive a cart where he’s not allowed to, he’d shoot between 95 and 105. Any claim he’s a good golfer at this age is a farce.”
Trump — who played in a tournament at his course in New Jersey over the weekend — claimed he won with a score of 70, posting of his opponents, “It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!” The 80-year-old president declared, “I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, because I’m focused on many other things.”
Abramson isn’t the first to suggest that Trump has a history of cheating. According to People Magazine, “Trump has long portrayed himself as an accomplished golfer, frequently highlighting his tournament wins at courses that bear his name. His claims have often sparked debate, with critics questioning the legitimacy of some of his victories because they occurred at clubs he owns or operates. Sportswriter Rick Reilly, the author and author of Commander-in-Cheat, has repeatedly challenged Trump’s golfing record.”
“I know this because when I play with him, he goes, ‘You know what I do to win these championships, don’t ya?’ and I go, ‘Please tell me. Give it to me.’ And he goes, ‘Anytime I buy a new course, I play the first round all by myself and then I declare myself the club champion,’” Reilly said on his Deadline White House appearance in March 2024. “So that’s what kind of guy this is.”