Trump tees off at LIV Golf tournament and says he feels ‘great’ about 2024, shows hand injury
Former President Donald Trump showed off his swing on his Virginia golf course Thursday while hosting the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV tournament, hours after he mocked new presidential candidate Ron DeSantis during his glitch-packed campaign launch.
Trump hit balls on his court in the Washington, D.C. area and spoke briefly to sports reporters about his poll performance.
Asked how he talked about the 2024 election during a crucial week, Trump responded: ‘I love it.’
He cited an unknown poll where he claimed he was ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by 71 to 16, as well as a Fox News public poll that showed him ahead by 53 to 20. he said one crisp, sunny morning on his course up the Potomac River.
Trump voiced polls showing him well ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as he hosted Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament
Trump had a lot of laughs on Thursday, hours after DeSantis launched a disastrous online campaign featuring a breakdown-packed conversation on Twitter Spaces with company chief Elon Musk. Trump ripped into his rival on his own platform Truth Social on Wednesday night.
”Wow! The launch of DeSanctus TWITTER is a DISASTER! His entire campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform,” he wrote.
And he mocked him as the misfortune unfolded and wrote, “Rob,” my red button is bigger, better, stronger and works (TRUTH!), yours isn’t! (According to my conversation with Kim Jung Un, from North Korea, soon to be my friend!).’
The 76-year-old Trump also posted a video full of attacks that clearly used an AI-generated voice to mock Florida’s governor. The broadcast had participants in a fake Twitter Spaces chat with a fake DeSantis, the Devil, Hitler, and Dick Cheney.
A close-up photo of the golf course appears to show bruises on Trump’s right hand.
The former president, 76, was found to have bruises on his hand
Trump cited an unknown poll with a huge lead, as well as a public Fox poll that has him more than 30 points higher than DeSantis
A 9/11 group wrote to Trump in protest, saying his company had received an “unknown, but likely significant amount” from a Saudi investment fund
Trump himself took to the course on Thursday when the tournament got underway
Former President Donald Trump talks with his son Eric Trump during the LIV Golf Pro-Am at Trump National Golf Club
Trump was under pressure as president to distance himself from Saudi Crown Prince Mohamma Bin Salman after the brutal murder of dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. US intelligence in 2021 rated that MBS ‘approved’ the operation to capture or kill him in Turkey
Trump has sparked controversy for hosting the tournament, which is backed by a Saudi Arabian public investment fund, earlier this year at his other courses in Miami and Bedminster, New Jersey.
Terry Strada, president of 9/11 Families United, wrote to Trump that he wanted a meeting this week to discuss the concerns, the Palm Beach Post reported.
“The Saudis are willing to spend billions (on LIV) to ‘sport’ its horrific reputation and human rights record,” Strada wrote. “According to federal court documents filed earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has generated virtually no revenue from its sponsorship of the LIV Golf League, despite raising more than $784 for its first season alone. million spent. That, of course, includes paying an undisclosed, but likely significant, amount to the Trump Organization to host its events,” the letter read.
The course is about 30 miles upriver from the Pentagon, where hijackers of 9/11 American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building, killing 64 people on board and 125 people inside the Pentagon.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, and intelligence files indicate that about a dozen Saudi officials provided financial or other support to the hijackers.
Saudi Arabia denies complicity.
US intelligence in 2021 rated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman “approved” the operation to capture or kill US columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the removal of documents from the White House to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, subpoenaed documents related to Trump’s dealings with LIV golf.