One of the most heated exchanges of Thursday night’s presidential debate—in which President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump were given the opportunity to address the biggest issues facing the nation—concerned their respective golf games.
Trump mentioned the sport when answering a question about his ability to serve, saying he’d “just won two club championships” at one of his own courses, adding a claim that Biden “can’t hit a ball 50 yards.” Biden retaliated by saying he’d got his own handicap when he was vice president “down to a six” and reiterated a challenge to play Trump at golf if he carries his own bag.
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For Trump, the golf spat seems to have struck a nerve.
After the debate, the presumptive Republican nominee shared several golf clips on his Truth Social platform. One was an almost four-minute compilation showing Trump driving, chipping, and putting golf balls set to bizarrely incongruous dramatic music, while another blurry video captioned with the text “CROOKED JOE BIDEN” seemingly purported to show the Democrat messing up a golf shot of his own.
Trump even dug out a clip from last year that had been edited, in an attempt at humor, to look like Trump hit a ball that then strikes Biden and knocks him down, using footage of the president’s fall at the Air Force Academy last year.
The former president’s late-night trolling session came after he accused Biden of lying about his golf handicap during the debate, calling the president’s claim “the biggest lie… of all.” “I’ve seen your swing,” Trump added. “I know your swing. Let’s not act like children, Joe.”
Biden’s golf handicap is listed as 6.7 on the United States Golf Association website, according to the Associated Press, noting that the last update came in July 2018. Trump’s most recent update came in June 2021 and is listed as 2.5.
Trump’s golf game—which has repeatedly been alleged to include brazen cheating—has previously figured in Biden’s attacks on his opponent. The president mocked Trump in March for bragging about winning two trophies at his own Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in Florida, sarcastically congratulating him for his “accomplishment” in an X post.
Biden also mentioned golf in another post denouncing Trump on Thursday night.
“Donald Trump spent the night talking about himself, his lies, his legal woes, his affairs with a porn star, and his golf championships at his own club,” Biden wrote. “What a bunch of malarkey.”
Biden’s shot at Trump came amid alarm about the Democrat’s debate performance from his own supporters, with his fumbling delivery leaving many wondering if he could be replaced on the ticket before November.
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