Viral video showing Trump in Scotland leads to golf cheating accusations
Trump golfed with his son Eric Trump and others at the Trump Turnberry resort, according to a pool report.
Video footage of Trump on a golf course posted on X July 27 by left-leaning account PatriotTakes has gone viral on social media, with people claiming it shows Trump cheating at golf. (Trump posted his own sizzle reel of his golf swings on his social media platform Truth Social earlier in the weekend.)
In the video, Trump pulls his golf cart to a stop in the rough before a sand trap. His caddie, walking ahead of him, appears to drop a golf ball in the grass beside him. Trump approaches the ball, but the video cuts off before Trump hits it. USA TODAY could not immediately verify the time or origin of the video and there is no context or video showing where Trump actually hit his previous shot. The post by PatriotTakes has garnered 4.5 million views on X as of July 28 midday.
Trump has long boasted of his golf game and claimed victory in several golf tournaments against seemingly impossible odds. This video is not the first time he has been accused of outright cheating in the sport.
More: Trump celebrates golf tournament win and Chelsea FIFA Club World Cup win on same day
Trump has been accused of cheating in the past
This is not the first time the president has been accused of cheating at golf. In fact, sportswriter Rick Reilly wrote a whole book about it in 2019: "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump."
"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.''
Another Winged Foot member who played with Trump said that Trump would cheat because he thought he was being cheated by other players, too, according to an excerpt from the book as reported by For the Win.
Trump often boasts about his golf tournament victories, even when his win seems impossible. He once said he won a club championship when he didn't play the first round. In another instance, he said he won an event with a score lower than many LIV golf pros.
In response to USA TODAY's inquiry about the video, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers pointed to the recent trade deal with the EU and the ceasefire in Thailand and Cambodia.
"Instead of covering the news that matters to everyday Americans, the legacy media is peddling a false narrative about the President's legendary golf game," Rogers said in an emailed statement.
Why did Donald Trump travel to Scotland?
Trump discussed trade with EU and UK leaders on his trip to Scotland as the Aug. 1 deadline approaches for reciprocal tariffs, which were delayed for the second time in early July.
On July 27, Trump announced the U.S. had reached a trade deal with the European Union: most goods would be tariffed at 15%, lower than the 30% Trump had previously threatened but higher than the 10% Europeans had hoped for.
The Trump Organization also owns two golf courses in Scotland: Trump Turnberry and Trump International Scotland. The Trump International Scotland resort is poised to open a second golf course next month. The resort includes buildings bearing the name of Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who emigrated from Scotland to New York in the 1930s.
This trip precludes a more elaborate formal state visit in the fall.
(This story has been updated with a response from the White House.)
Contributing: Tom D'Angelo, Zac Anderson, Savannah Kuchar, Bart Jansen, Medora Lee, USA TODAY Network
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump cheating at golf? Video, accusations go viral on Scotland trip
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