After Announcing Soldier’s Death, Trump Draws Backlash for Bragging About Golf Wins
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, has died from the injuries she sustained after a lone gunman opened fire on her and fellow National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, 24, in Washington, D.C. Just hours later, after announcing her tragic death, President Donald Trump spoke to the media — where he shifted from somber news to boasting about another golf club championship he claimed to have won.
Beckstrom died following the Wednesday shooting, in which suspected gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal shot her and Andrew Wolfe near the Farragut metro station. On Thursday night, during his Thanksgiving call to U.S. troops, Trump announced her passing, calling Beckstrom a “highly respected, young, magnificent person” who had been “savagely attacked.”
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened,” Trump said.
Wolfe remains hospitalized in critical condition. Lakanwal was also wounded, taken to a hospital, and is now under heavy guard, authorities said.
Trump traveled to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving and spent time on the golf course before making his call to U.S. troops.
Trump praises his golf performance hours after announcing Beckstrom’s death
Shortly after informing service members of Beckstrom’s death, Trump spoke proudly about his golf game, claiming he had just secured his 38th club championship. Earlier this year, he said he had won 36. Trump insisted he was a scratch golfer and claimed he defeated a 27-year-old opponent.
“I’ve won 38 of them, legitimately. Every one legitimately,” he said. “It has to be legitimate because you have a lot of people following you during club championships.”
He continued, “I’ve got to be right around scratch or better… For those that don’t know, in the finals of the club championship last year, with all I was going through, and with no practice… I’m a good golfer. You know, I would have to say that. I want to be honest. I have to be honest.”
Whether Trump’s golf victories are legitimate has long been debated. Author Rick Reilly even wrote a book titled Commander in Cheat, strongly suggesting that Trump regularly cheats on the golf course — a claim echoed by many others.
“Will do anything to cheat”
On MSNBC’s Deadline White House, Reilly described Trump’s behavior while golfing.
“I’ve always said golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a guy,” Reilly said. “And what it reveals about this guy is that he cannot lose. He has to win and he will do anything to cheat.”
Reilly continued, “And I know because I played golf with him — and he took seven mulligans. He took a ‘give me chip-in.’ I’ve never even heard of a ‘give me chip-in.’”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung denied those claims in a 2024 interview with People Magazine.
“Rick fantasizes about having a golf game as good as President Trump,” Cheung said. “Instead of putting in the hard work to improve his s—ty game, Rick lets his severe Trump Derangement Syndrome take over his life. He should seek urgent medical care before it’s too late.”
Reilly noted that Trump has “never won a championship at a course he doesn’t own and operate,” despite the former president asserting he has won 23.
“I don’t know anything about politics,” Reilly concluded. “But I know about golf. I’ve covered it for 45 years. It’s not a sport where you can cheat. It’s just not in the game.”
Trump’s nickname on the golf course: “Pele”
At the Winged Foot golf club, where Trump is a member, caddies have reportedly witnessed him kicking his ball back onto the fairway so often that they nicknamed him “Pele,” after the legendary Brazilian football star — whom Trump has said is his favorite player.
“I played with him once,” Bryan Marsal, longtime Winged Foot member and chair of the 2020 Men’s U.S. Open, told Golf.com.
“It was a Saturday morning game. We go to the first tee and he couldn’t have been nicer. But then he said, ‘You see those two guys? They cheat. See me? I cheat. And I expect you to cheat because we’re going to beat those two guys today.’”
Do you believe Donald Trump cheats at golf? Share your thoughts in the Facebook comments.