Trump hosts controversial Saudi-funded golf tournament as he mulls 2024 bid
The lucrative Saudi-backed events at the former president’s Doral and Bedminster courses threaten the PGA and are outraging 9/11 families.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-hosts-controversial-saudi-funded-golf-tournament-mulls-2024-bid-rcna37693
"Money. Revenge. Disruption. International intrigue.
These hallmarks of Donald Trump’s business brand are all colliding in his latest political controversy involving the world of professional golf.
Later this month, Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey hosts its first tournament for the new LIV Golf series, funded by Saudi Arabia, which is upending the sport’s establishment with a $2 billion investment and contracts with top players that reportedly reach $150 million or more.
The series closes in October with a $50 million purse at Trump’s signature Florida course, Trump National Doral Miami, promising an infusion of unknown millions into Trump's golf empire, which began to noticeably struggle after he began his run for president in 2016.
The huge Saudi sums could not only benefit Trump financially as he mulls a comeback bid in 2024, but they also pose a mortal threat to the PGA Tour, which reacted to LIV Golf by suspending players from competing in its tournaments — a move that landed the tour in the crosshairs of a federal antitrust investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Meanwhile, the survivors and families of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have lined up against LIV Golf and protested its first U.S. event last month in Oregon because of Saudi Arabia’s involvement and the kingdom’s multiple connections to the hijackers. Now, Trump is in their sights, and Trump’s team is firing back.
Trump’s decision to tee off with LIV highlights his close ties to Saudi Arabia; he made his first foreign visit there as president, and its wealth fund injected $2 billion into his son-in-law’s company last year. The Trump-LIV partnership also represents a measure of paybacks. The PGA Tour and PGA of America yanked tournaments from Doral and Bedminster, respectively, following bigoted remarks he made on the campaign trail in 2016 (the PGA Tour said the move was financially motivated after losing the sponsorship for the event), and then his role in inciting the mob that ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump sued PGA of America and the case was settled in December."
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