Donald Trump has not yet taken office and he is already sparking outrage with the issues he is choosing to prioritize.
Despite previously indicating that overseeing the possible merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was not a priority, Donald Trump is already speaking to key figures on both sides of the potential deal less than two weeks after the election, according to the Washington Post.
“Even as he was filling out his Cabinet selections Friday, the president-elect played a round of golf with Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people familiar with the meeting. And at a UFC event Saturday night in New York, Trump sat between Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which launched LIV Golf in 2022 to compete with the PGA Tour,” Rick Maese wrote for the Washington Post this weekend.
“While the exact nature of and details from the meetings are uncertain, multiple people familiar with the process say the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund continue to discuss a partnership, even though an initial deadline to agree to terms passed more than 11 months ago.”
This comes after Trump insisted earlier this month that this would not be a priority for him as the country faces “much bigger problems.”
“I would say it would take me the better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done,” Trump said the “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray and Bill Belichick earlier this month. “I’m really going to work on other things, to be honest with you. I think we have much bigger problems than that. But I do think we should have one tour and they should have the best players in that tour.”
Of course, these meets aren’t exactly random. Trump has a vested interest in professional golf, hosting many high-profile golf tournaments at his golf resorts and properties around the world over the years.
As a result, people were not exactly happy to see him prioritizing the state of professional golf over some of the concerns around the nation, given his personal financial interest in the matter.
“He wants PGA golf to return to his golf courses. The man is predictable. It’s always about corruption and him getting paid,” one person wrote in the comments.
“Gross. Just gross,” another person added.
“I wonder if he will find some time to work something in for the poor/middle class people who voted him in,” another person wrote.
“Gee. There’s a problem that was clearly a focus of the election,” another person added.
“Of course. The most important issues facing the new administration revolve around where to play professional golf tournaments. Glad our man has his priorities straight,” another person wrote.
“Trump focusing on the important things,” someone else added sarcastically.
“Good to know what Trump’s priorities seem to be – golf,” another person wrote.
“I’m so glad president-elect Trump is laser focused on the most important issues facing the United States of America. A statesman of the finest refinement,” someone else wrote sarcastically.
Obviously, this is just a sample of some of the reactions from normal, everyday people. But it’s still pretty clear that people are not happy with this move from the president-elect.
