What Trump didn’t mention in this tweet is that he and Woods have business ties — in 2014, Trump hired Woods to design an 18-hold course at the Trump-branded property in Dubai.
Trump’s Dubai property has been in the news lately because the Trump Organization hired a prominent construction company owned by the Chinese government this year to work on the development, a direct contradiction to Trump’s pledge that during his presidency, his family business wouldn’t make deals with foreign governments.
It’s also a direct violation of the emoluments clause, the constitutional clause intended to keep a president from having any conflicts of interest while in office, real or perceived. It expressly prohibits the U.S. president from receiving “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever” from a foreign government or its dignitaries without the approval of Congress.
Trump still maintains ownership of the Trump Organization, and only transferred his investments to a not-blind trust while Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. manage the business.
Trump claims that there is a firewall between him and the operations of the Trump Organization while he is in the White House, but there is evidence to the contrary, including admissions by his sons that they speak frequently with their father about the business.
This isn’t just a round of golf between a President and a citizen he admires; it’s a round of golf between American business partners who are relying heavily on an investment from the Chinese government. And during the transition, Woods golfed with the president-elect and his family.
Trump and Woods have been close throughout the years. Trump has boasted about his loyalty to Woods throughout the years. After Woods won the Cadillac Championship golf tournament in 2013 at a Trump property, Trump tweeted, “I remained strong for [Tiger Woods] during his difficult period. He rewarded me (and himself) by winning at Trump National Doral. Woods also played golf with Trump last December, after the election.
According to CBS 12 reporter Greg Angel, this is Trump’s 76th game of golf, and 101st day at a Trump-branded property, since he was inaugurated in January.
