SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Trump plays golf in Sterling, Va., on May 23. (Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
'It Was Me Who Shattered 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,' Says Trump to Defend Golfing Amid Covid-19 Pandemic
"A poignant Memorial Day tribute by President Trump."
May 25, 2020
President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out against those criticizing his decision to play golf over the weekend by blaming his predecessor Barack Obama for failing to defeat Islamic State forces and accusing his 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden of having a "poor work ethic."
After footage emerged over the weekend of Trump golfing even as the nation's Covid-19 death toll neared 100,000 people, critics of the president pounced at the opportunity to denounce the decision and highlight his ongoing mismanagement of the pandemic crisis and indifference to its victims.
\u201cTrump\u2019s decision to go golfing while 100,000 Americans have died has a very Louis XVI vibe to it. https://t.co/MXY96C3VhB\u201d— Sanho Tree (@Sanho Tree) 1590272306
"The Fake & Totally Corrupt News makes it sound like a mortal sin [to play golf]," Trump tweeted Monday. "I knew this would happen! What they don't say is that it was my first golf in almost 3 months." Trump called journalists who reported on his trip to the links as "truly deranged" people who are "sick with hatred and dishonesty" aimed at him personally.
Deflecting the criticisms he widely faced, Trump in his Monday morning tweets took aim at Obama and "Sleepy Joe" Biden.
\u201c....Hawaii in a big, fully loaded 747, to play. What did that do to the so-called Carbon Footprint? He also played moments after the brutal killing by ISIS of a wonderful young man. Totally inappropriate - and it was me who shattered 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. I was left a MESS!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1590413512
Independent journalist Judd Legum said sarcastically that the entire thread was a "poignant Memorial Day tribute by President Trump."
On Saturday night, Biden's campaign released a new campaign ad targeting Trump's golf game:
\u201cNearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work.\n\nMeanwhile, the president spent his day golfing.\u201d— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1590285360
The golfing-while-president controversy is nothing new, of course, as the New York Times noted on Sunday:
Golfing during a crisis has always proved problematic for presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower was criticized for playing after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. George W. Bush gave up golfing during the Iraq war to avoid looking insensitive to the troops and their families. Barack Obama was excoriated for golfing after an American was beheaded by terrorists in the Middle East.
Among those who regularly assailed Mr. Obama for golfing was Mr. Trump--by one count, 27 times. "Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf," Mr. Trump wrote in 2014.
As anti-war critics have stated throughout Trump's tenure as commander-in-chief, the president's "bankrupt" foreign policy--including his assault on ISIS forces in the Middle East and Africa--has been marred by callousness and cruelty that sacrificed untold numbers of civilians in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere to U.S. bombardment and massacre.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out against those criticizing his decision to play golf over the weekend by blaming his predecessor Barack Obama for failing to defeat Islamic State forces and accusing his 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden of having a "poor work ethic."
After footage emerged over the weekend of Trump golfing even as the nation's Covid-19 death toll neared 100,000 people, critics of the president pounced at the opportunity to denounce the decision and highlight his ongoing mismanagement of the pandemic crisis and indifference to its victims.
\u201cTrump\u2019s decision to go golfing while 100,000 Americans have died has a very Louis XVI vibe to it. https://t.co/MXY96C3VhB\u201d— Sanho Tree (@Sanho Tree) 1590272306
"The Fake & Totally Corrupt News makes it sound like a mortal sin [to play golf]," Trump tweeted Monday. "I knew this would happen! What they don't say is that it was my first golf in almost 3 months." Trump called journalists who reported on his trip to the links as "truly deranged" people who are "sick with hatred and dishonesty" aimed at him personally.
Deflecting the criticisms he widely faced, Trump in his Monday morning tweets took aim at Obama and "Sleepy Joe" Biden.
\u201c....Hawaii in a big, fully loaded 747, to play. What did that do to the so-called Carbon Footprint? He also played moments after the brutal killing by ISIS of a wonderful young man. Totally inappropriate - and it was me who shattered 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. I was left a MESS!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1590413512
Independent journalist Judd Legum said sarcastically that the entire thread was a "poignant Memorial Day tribute by President Trump."
On Saturday night, Biden's campaign released a new campaign ad targeting Trump's golf game:
\u201cNearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work.\n\nMeanwhile, the president spent his day golfing.\u201d— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1590285360
The golfing-while-president controversy is nothing new, of course, as the New York Times noted on Sunday:
Golfing during a crisis has always proved problematic for presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower was criticized for playing after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. George W. Bush gave up golfing during the Iraq war to avoid looking insensitive to the troops and their families. Barack Obama was excoriated for golfing after an American was beheaded by terrorists in the Middle East.
Among those who regularly assailed Mr. Obama for golfing was Mr. Trump--by one count, 27 times. "Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf," Mr. Trump wrote in 2014.
As anti-war critics have stated throughout Trump's tenure as commander-in-chief, the president's "bankrupt" foreign policy--including his assault on ISIS forces in the Middle East and Africa--has been marred by callousness and cruelty that sacrificed untold numbers of civilians in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere to U.S. bombardment and massacre.
President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out against those criticizing his decision to play golf over the weekend by blaming his predecessor Barack Obama for failing to defeat Islamic State forces and accusing his 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden of having a "poor work ethic."
After footage emerged over the weekend of Trump golfing even as the nation's Covid-19 death toll neared 100,000 people, critics of the president pounced at the opportunity to denounce the decision and highlight his ongoing mismanagement of the pandemic crisis and indifference to its victims.
\u201cTrump\u2019s decision to go golfing while 100,000 Americans have died has a very Louis XVI vibe to it. https://t.co/MXY96C3VhB\u201d— Sanho Tree (@Sanho Tree) 1590272306
"The Fake & Totally Corrupt News makes it sound like a mortal sin [to play golf]," Trump tweeted Monday. "I knew this would happen! What they don't say is that it was my first golf in almost 3 months." Trump called journalists who reported on his trip to the links as "truly deranged" people who are "sick with hatred and dishonesty" aimed at him personally.
Deflecting the criticisms he widely faced, Trump in his Monday morning tweets took aim at Obama and "Sleepy Joe" Biden.
\u201c....Hawaii in a big, fully loaded 747, to play. What did that do to the so-called Carbon Footprint? He also played moments after the brutal killing by ISIS of a wonderful young man. Totally inappropriate - and it was me who shattered 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. I was left a MESS!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1590413512
Independent journalist Judd Legum said sarcastically that the entire thread was a "poignant Memorial Day tribute by President Trump."
On Saturday night, Biden's campaign released a new campaign ad targeting Trump's golf game:
\u201cNearly 100,000 lives have been lost, and tens of millions are out of work.\n\nMeanwhile, the president spent his day golfing.\u201d— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1590285360
The golfing-while-president controversy is nothing new, of course, as the New York Times noted on Sunday:
Golfing during a crisis has always proved problematic for presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower was criticized for playing after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. George W. Bush gave up golfing during the Iraq war to avoid looking insensitive to the troops and their families. Barack Obama was excoriated for golfing after an American was beheaded by terrorists in the Middle East.
Among those who regularly assailed Mr. Obama for golfing was Mr. Trump--by one count, 27 times. "Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf," Mr. Trump wrote in 2014.
As anti-war critics have stated throughout Trump's tenure as commander-in-chief, the president's "bankrupt" foreign policy--including his assault on ISIS forces in the Middle East and Africa--has been marred by callousness and cruelty that sacrificed untold numbers of civilians in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere to U.S. bombardment and massacre.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.