April 2: On This Day In 2019
“I always say golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man. And golf reveals a lot of ugliness in this president.”—Rick Reilly
OTDI 2019, esteemed sportswriter Rick Reilly published his book “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.” It was an epic reveal on how Trump cheats at just about everything–his business dealings, his personal relations, his marital relations, you name it. You’re left wondering if there’s anything he doesn’t cheat at.
And “Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf,” Reilly wrote. “He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pele.’”
“As a golfer, he really offends me,” Reilly told The Guardian. “Cheating? Hate that…(But) most of all I hate how stupid he’s making my country look.”
Reilly challenged Trump to put his money where his mouth is. He offered to play him a round–under adult supervision–for $100,000, with the winner’s haul going to charity. “But the rule is, we can’t play his course, we can’t use his cheating caddies, and there’s got to be a rule guy with each of us, and I’ll play him all day.”
Trump refused to take the bet.
Perhaps Reilly should feel lucky. After all, there’s no end to the stories about how Trump cheats on petty things. There are literally hundreds of small-business contractors he has stiffed, ranging from plumbers who install his golden (?) toilets, to the Rudy Guiliani who flushed away his career.
So it’s no surprise he cheats on important things too…such as all three of his wives. Oh yeah, and on a dozen international agreements the U.S. had signed.
Dive deeper
The Guardian interviews Reilly about his book
Washington Post reports on Reilly challenging Trump to a supervised round of golf
The Palm Beach Post recounts the many ways Trump cheats at golf
USA Today details some of his other cheating
Reilly’s one of the best sportswriters of the 20th (and 21st) centuries. See for yourself on Amazon.
Summary: Donald Trump cheats at everything, including golf