Biographies about politicians can give a fascinating insight into the individuals behind the carefully constructed speeches and public appearances.
Perhaps we can also learn a lot about a political figure from their conduct during recreational activities. Are they considerate to other members at their gym? Do they play fair at tennis?
We don’t expect our leaders to be football stars, but we do hope they treat others with respect once they’re off the clock.
Could a new book which delves into the golfing life of President Donald Trump give us a warts and all glimpse at the man behind the mysterious orange mask?
Written by acclaimed sports writer Rick Reilly, Commander In Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump is reportedly ‘an uproarious indictment of Donald Trump’s lying, cheating, and poor sportsmanship’.
A snippet of the upcoming book has been published in Politico, offering an intriguing insight into what it takes to caddy for Trump.
One anecdote details how Trump managed to hit himself in the head with his own driver (golf club) before attempting to place the blame on his exceedingly loyal caddy ‘A.J.’:
One time, after a bad drive, Trump slammed his driver back in his bag, as guys will do, and wasn’t really watching what he was doing, and the driver ricocheted back and hit Trump in the head. ‘A.J.?’ Trump asked, pissed. ‘Did you just hit me in the head with my own driver?’
‘Sir, Mr. Trump, why would I do that?’ A.J. said. ‘You’re my president!’
There are more than a few members at Trump Washington who’d love to hit Trump in the head. A valet told me, ‘We had a bunch of them quit when he won’. Most of the anti-Trump crowd stayed, but they resist in their own small ways.
Another incident reveals how A.J. reportedly put somebody in ‘a full military chokehold’ after they badmouthed his president:
A.J. (who asked that I not use his last name in my book) is so loyal that if someone criticizes Trump, he’ll fight him — and has. One day, when the 2017 Senior PGA Championship was being held at Trump Washington, he overhead one of the Tour pro’s caddies – Brian ‘Sully’ Sullivan – dissing Trump.
‘He was running his mouth, sir,’ says A.J., who calls everybody ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’. ‘Yellin’ about Mr. Trump. He was sayin’ to somebody, ‘Don’t tell me how I have to feel about him! I hate that motherf—–!’
A.J. says he came up on Sully from behind and put him in a full military chokehold, yelling, ‘Now, you listen to me, f—–! You’re not gonna come to Mr. Trump’s course and eat Mr. Trump’s food and then use the word ‘hate’ about my president. I won’t have it, you got me?’
Sounds like an interesting read…
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.