The White House announced on Saturday that the President had won the 2025 Senior Men’s Club Championship at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. The official communications shop, on official letterhead, made the announcement. The caption read “Winning on and off the course.”
There is a structural detail here that is easy to miss in the cheer of it. The course is owned by the President. The membership pays dues to a corporation owned by the President. The trophy was awarded by an entity controlled by the President. The press shop publishing the result reports to the President. The score, 69 gross, 67 net, was attested to by people whose continued access to the course depends on the goodwill of the President.
This is not the structure of a sporting result. This is the structure of an internal performance review.
A traveling videographer captured separate footage of a caddie on the green that the internet decided was not flattering. We do not know what we saw on the green. We know what we saw at the press shop.
In a serious country, a head of state who plays at a private course owned by a corporation he controls does not permit the announcement of the result to be issued by his own government’s press apparatus, because in a serious country the head of state notices the difference between the corporation and the government. There is no evidence the difference was noticed.
Calmly documenting the decline.
The breakdown.
- Factual basis The score reported was 69 gross, 67 net. The course belongs to him.13/25
- Self-awareness The White House labeled it 'winning on and off the course.'4/20
- Staff containment The communications staff issued the announcement themselves.8/20
- Recovery attempt None offered. The video stayed up.5/15
- Public spectacle Modest. The clip circulated for forty-eight hours.9/20
Was this dumb enough?
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