As families of 9/11 victims criticize Donald Trump for hosting a LIV Golf tournament, the former president responded by doubling down on his support for the Saudi-backed tour.
Trump’s golf property in Bedminster, New Jersey will host the LIV Golf Invitational next week, and families of 9/11 victims have protested the event considering the tour is funded by the same Saudi government that was complicit in the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We simply cannot understand how you could agree to accept money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s golf league to host their tournament at your golf course, and to do so in the shadows of ground zero in New Jersey, which lost over 700 residents during the attacks,” the group, 9/11 Justice, wrote in a letter to Trump.
Not only will Trump continue to accept money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s golf league, but he’s urging golfers from the PGA Tour to do the same. In a Monday morning post on TruthSocial, Trump slammed the “very disloyal” PGA and warned golfers against missing out on the money being offered by the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league.
“All of those golfers that remain “loyal” to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big “thank you” from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote.
“If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were,” the former president continued. “Good luck to all, and congratulations to really talented Cam Smith on his incredible WIN!”
Like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others who have joined LIV Golf, Trump has chosen to take the Saudi money and his allegiance shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Trump has been at odds with the PGA after the PGA of America Board of Directors voted to move its 2022 Championship from one of his golf properties because of his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. The former president has previously boasted about his relationship with Saudi Arabia and earlier this year, his son-in-law Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from the country known for its human rights abuses.
While Trump bashed the PGA and supported the Saudi-backed tour in his statement, he chose not to address the 9/11 victims. Instead, Trump blatantly ignored their “deep pain and anger” over his decision to host LIV Golf at his Bedminster course, less than 50 miles away from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
