Rory McIlroy rips Trump apart over mishandling coronavirus situation, vows never to go golfing with him again
Rory Mcllroy was slaughtered by his followers on social media just moments after he finished playing a round of golf with President Donald Trump three years ago. The golf ace appeared on the McKellar Podcast on Thursday, May 14, where he was asked about that round with the commander-in-chief. He promised it would be the last time he'd ever putt with Trump, the New York Post reported.
“Guilt by association,’’ McIlroy said when asked about that round and the social media outrage that followed. “I haven’t done it since, so there’s one answer to [your] question," he added.
The pro golfer then hinted that he had been invited to play with the president, but had chosen not to. According to him, it was "out of choice."
“I’ll sit here and say the day that the time I did spend with him and others was very enjoyable," McIlroy said. "He’s very charismatic, he was nice to everyone — it didn’t matter whether you were me or guys in the cart barn or the pro at the golf club."
“He has something. He obviously has something or he wouldn’t be in the White House, right? He has something — whatever it is, an X factor, charisma, whatever," he continued. "Most people that he came across that day he was cordial to, he was nice and personable. That was my only interaction with him the day I had with him."
“But,’’ McIlroy added, “That doesn’t mean that I agree with everything — or in fact anything — that he says.’’
Mcllroy is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has held the position for over 100 weeks. He is set to play in a skins match with Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, and Dustin Johnson on May 17 as part of a fundraising exhibition for Covid-19.
The top seed expressed his displeasure with how the president has handled his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re in the midst of something that’s pretty serious right now and the fact that he’s trying to politicize it and make it a campaign rally and say we’re administering the most tests in the world like it is a contest — there’s something that just is terrible,’’ McIlroy said. “It’s not the way a leader should act. There’s a sort of diplomacy that you need to have, and I don’t think he’s showing that — especially in these times.’’
Mcllroy, who lives close to Trump's residence in Palm Beach, Florida, was then asked if he'd play with the president ever again.
“I don’t know if he’d want to play with me again after what I just said. But no, I wouldn’t," he said in response.
Back in 2017, Mcllroy insisted that his decision to play golf with the president “wasn’t an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind.”
He later revealed how social media had lashed out at him and called him a "fascist" and a "bigot" for spending time with Trump.
“Whether you respect the person who holds that position or not, you respect the office that he holds,” McIlroy said at the time. “Golf was our common ground, nothing else. I’ve traveled all over the world and have been fortunate enough to befriend people from many different countries, beliefs, and cultures.”