Trump Rips 'Fake News Media' After Tiger Woods' Comments About the President
It’s almost admirable how relentless the mainstream media is when it comes to covering President Donald Trump.
Almost.
When that type of fervor is used for actual news reporting, it is absolutely an admirable quality.
When that type of zeal is used to attack the president on shamelessly spurious grounds, it’s a bad look.
Case in point, reporters hounded golf star Tiger on Sunday following the conclusion of the Northern Trust golf tournament.
But they weren’t pressing him about his swing or the state of his putting game. No, reporters were incessantly asking Woods about his relationship with Trump.
Now, had this been the Tiger Woods of just a year or two ago, then sure. It may have been worth asking him about his relationship with Trump since there was virtually nothing of consequence happening in his golf career.
But the Tiger Woods of 2018 is actually starting to resemble an actual golfer again. Reporters could’ve broached any number of more important topics to Woods and Woods’ fans than the relationship between Woods and Trump.
Has the pain in his back completely subsided? What’s the final step he needs to take to start winning tournaments again? What’s been the most important thing in his recent improvements?
Instead, Woods was peppered with incessant questions clearly meant to create a headline.
“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” Woods said when asked about his relationship with Trump at the Ridgewood Country Club. “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
Woods has played golf with Trump at least twice since the 2016 election, including on Thanksgiving once.
The reporters then reached for some low-hanging fruit by asking Woods about all of the people being threatened by Trump’s “policy.”
Rest assured, the reporters probably didn’t get the response they wanted. Woods delivered the perfect response that many other professional athletes could learn from.
“Well, he’s the president of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”
And that’s really the heart of the matter. Respectful political discourse has been thrown away in favor of grade school insults and inflammatory rhetoric.
Woods ended the questions with an air of annoyance, as could be expected.
“No. I just finished 72 holes and am really hungry,” he said when asked if he had anything else he wanted to say about Trump.
Trump, for his part, appreciated Woods’ candor and respect and made it known on Twitter. The president also lashed out at the “Fake News Media” for trying to create a controversy where none was needed.
The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game – he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2018
“Tiger wouldn’t play the (Fake News Media’s) game – he is very smart,” Trump tweeted.
Of note, Woods’ apolitical respect for the presidency goes back a long way. According to ESPN, Woods has golfed with former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He reportedly also tried to golf with George W. Bush, but it just never came to fruition.
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