On March 16, 2025, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to announce yet another triumph: “I just won the Golf Club Championship, probably my last, at Trump International Golf Club, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Such a great honor!” The post, brimming with his trademark gusto, came just hours after he was spotted arriving at the course that morning, ready to tee off. For Trump, a self-proclaimed golf aficionado who owns 16 courses worldwide, it’s the latest in a string of club championship wins he’s touted over the years. But this victory celebrated with an awards dinner that night lands smack in the middle of a brewing storm over taxpayer-funded golf trips, turning what could’ve been a simple brag into a lightning rod for critics.
The Win: A Familiar Tune
Trump’s no stranger to crowing about his golf game. Last year, he claimed both the Club Championship and Senior Club Championship at the same West Palm Beach course, boasting of a “large and golfing talented membership” and a “GREAT and difficult course.” He’s even been handed a “Most Improved Player” award by legend Jack Nicklaus. But his wins often come with a whiff of skepticism. Stories of rule-bending like missing rounds yet still claiming titles swirl around him, fueled by sportswriter Rick Reilly’s 2019 book Commander in Cheat, which alleges Trump’s knack for “fudging and foozling” on the fairways. This time, there’s no hard evidence he skipped holes, but the chatter’s already bubbling on X: “Another ‘win’ for the guy who writes his own scorecards?”
For Trump, golf’s more than a game it’s a flex. “You need strength and stamina to WIN,” he wrote last year, tying his swings to his leadership cred. And with 12 U.S. courses, plus others in Scotland, Ireland, and the UAE, he’s got plenty of home turf to rack up trophies. Supporters eat it up posts on X call it “cinema” and proof of his grit. Critics, though, see a pattern: a guy who can’t resist the spotlight, even if it means stretching the truth.
The Taxpayer Tab: A Growing Firestorm
What’s really got people talking isn’t the win it’s the cost. Trump’s golf habit has long been a sore spot, and since retaking the White House in 2025, he’s already racked up seven trips in under two months, per a HuffPost tally. That’s $10.7 million in taxpayer dough, based on 2019 Government Accountability Office numbers pegging each Mar-a-Lago jaunt at $3.38 million (adjusted higher for inflation). Air Force One, motorcade flights, Coast Guard boats, Secret Service—every weekend swing adds up fast. By some estimates, his first term’s 193 golf outings cost over $150 million, and if he keeps this pace, Forbes predicts a $340 million tab over eight years.
Critics are livid. “He brags about donating his $400K salary, but forgets the $141M in golf trips we’ve paid for,” one X user griped, echoing a 2020 Robert Reich post. Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman told Inquisitr, “It’s not just the waste it’s the self-enrichment.” Every trip to Trump International or Mar-a-Lago funnels cash to his own businesses, a conflict that’s dogged him since 2017. Back then, he slammed Obama’s local golf outings, but his own jet-setting’s on another level. “He could retire to Florida full-time,” Weissman quipped, “and save us the bill.”
Trump’s team shrugs it off. “Presidents get protection wherever they go,” watchdog Noah Bookbinder told Inquisitr. “But going to his own properties? That’s where it gets messy.” The White House hasn’t commented, and Trump’s post didn’t touch the funding flap he just thanked the “wonderful golf staff” and “fantastic golfers.” Still, the timing’s brutal: his “Department of Government Efficiency” crew, led by Elon Musk, is slashing budgets left and right, yet these million-dollar weekends slide by unnoticed.
The Controversy Deepens: Past and Present
This isn’t Trump’s first golf-related dust-up. His courses have tangled with tax woes before. In 2016, he sued to slash the value of his Westchester club from $50 million to $1.4 million for tax purposes, despite boasting its worth elsewhere. In 2021, a Reuters report revealed he scored a $21.1 million tax break for conserving a driving range at his L.A. course land he never planned to develop anyway. NPR found his “$5 million to charity” claim from that club was more like $800K, mostly in-kind perks. And in 2023, a New York DA dropped a probe into whether he lowballed his Briarcliff Manor course’s value to dodge taxes, though AG Letitia James still alleges he inflated assets for loans.
Now, with 2025’s win, the spotlight’s back. Posts on X range from “Taxpayers funded his victory lap” to “Let the man golf he’s earned it.” The numbers don’t lie: each trip’s a hefty chunk of change, and with two assassination attempts last year jacking up security costs, it’s only climbing. HuffPost notes he’s hit Trump International 10 times since January 20, plus three at Doral. That’s 13 of 48 days in office swinging clubs over a quarter of his time.
What’s It All Mean?
Trump’s latest championship claim is classic him: bold, brash, and divisive. For fans, it’s a middle finger to the haters proof he’s still got it. On X, one supporter wrote, “He’s out there winning while the left cries about money.” For detractors, it’s a symbol of excess, a president golfing on the public dime while preaching fiscal restraint. “Elon’s cutting grants, but Trump’s teeing off,” one post snarked.
Will it stick? Hard to say. Golf’s his thing Jack Nicklaus once said Trump loves it more than money and he’s not slowing down. If he lands another deal, maybe with a team desperate for a cheap arm (or a publicity stunt), he could defy the odds again. For now, though, this victory’s less about birdies and more about the baggage: a taxpayer-funded tale that’s got everyone talking, from the fairway to the White House. As the awards dinner wraps and the debate rages on, one thing’s clear Trump’s still driving the conversation, one swing at a time.
The Win: A Familiar Tune
Trump’s no stranger to crowing about his golf game. Last year, he claimed both the Club Championship and Senior Club Championship at the same West Palm Beach course, boasting of a “large and golfing talented membership” and a “GREAT and difficult course.” He’s even been handed a “Most Improved Player” award by legend Jack Nicklaus. But his wins often come with a whiff of skepticism. Stories of rule-bending like missing rounds yet still claiming titles swirl around him, fueled by sportswriter Rick Reilly’s 2019 book Commander in Cheat, which alleges Trump’s knack for “fudging and foozling” on the fairways. This time, there’s no hard evidence he skipped holes, but the chatter’s already bubbling on X: “Another ‘win’ for the guy who writes his own scorecards?”
For Trump, golf’s more than a game it’s a flex. “You need strength and stamina to WIN,” he wrote last year, tying his swings to his leadership cred. And with 12 U.S. courses, plus others in Scotland, Ireland, and the UAE, he’s got plenty of home turf to rack up trophies. Supporters eat it up posts on X call it “cinema” and proof of his grit. Critics, though, see a pattern: a guy who can’t resist the spotlight, even if it means stretching the truth.
The Taxpayer Tab: A Growing Firestorm
What’s really got people talking isn’t the win it’s the cost. Trump’s golf habit has long been a sore spot, and since retaking the White House in 2025, he’s already racked up seven trips in under two months, per a HuffPost tally. That’s $10.7 million in taxpayer dough, based on 2019 Government Accountability Office numbers pegging each Mar-a-Lago jaunt at $3.38 million (adjusted higher for inflation). Air Force One, motorcade flights, Coast Guard boats, Secret Service—every weekend swing adds up fast. By some estimates, his first term’s 193 golf outings cost over $150 million, and if he keeps this pace, Forbes predicts a $340 million tab over eight years.
Critics are livid. “He brags about donating his $400K salary, but forgets the $141M in golf trips we’ve paid for,” one X user griped, echoing a 2020 Robert Reich post. Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman told Inquisitr, “It’s not just the waste it’s the self-enrichment.” Every trip to Trump International or Mar-a-Lago funnels cash to his own businesses, a conflict that’s dogged him since 2017. Back then, he slammed Obama’s local golf outings, but his own jet-setting’s on another level. “He could retire to Florida full-time,” Weissman quipped, “and save us the bill.”
Trump’s team shrugs it off. “Presidents get protection wherever they go,” watchdog Noah Bookbinder told Inquisitr. “But going to his own properties? That’s where it gets messy.” The White House hasn’t commented, and Trump’s post didn’t touch the funding flap he just thanked the “wonderful golf staff” and “fantastic golfers.” Still, the timing’s brutal: his “Department of Government Efficiency” crew, led by Elon Musk, is slashing budgets left and right, yet these million-dollar weekends slide by unnoticed.
The Controversy Deepens: Past and Present
This isn’t Trump’s first golf-related dust-up. His courses have tangled with tax woes before. In 2016, he sued to slash the value of his Westchester club from $50 million to $1.4 million for tax purposes, despite boasting its worth elsewhere. In 2021, a Reuters report revealed he scored a $21.1 million tax break for conserving a driving range at his L.A. course land he never planned to develop anyway. NPR found his “$5 million to charity” claim from that club was more like $800K, mostly in-kind perks. And in 2023, a New York DA dropped a probe into whether he lowballed his Briarcliff Manor course’s value to dodge taxes, though AG Letitia James still alleges he inflated assets for loans.
Now, with 2025’s win, the spotlight’s back. Posts on X range from “Taxpayers funded his victory lap” to “Let the man golf he’s earned it.” The numbers don’t lie: each trip’s a hefty chunk of change, and with two assassination attempts last year jacking up security costs, it’s only climbing. HuffPost notes he’s hit Trump International 10 times since January 20, plus three at Doral. That’s 13 of 48 days in office swinging clubs over a quarter of his time.
What’s It All Mean?
Trump’s latest championship claim is classic him: bold, brash, and divisive. For fans, it’s a middle finger to the haters proof he’s still got it. On X, one supporter wrote, “He’s out there winning while the left cries about money.” For detractors, it’s a symbol of excess, a president golfing on the public dime while preaching fiscal restraint. “Elon’s cutting grants, but Trump’s teeing off,” one post snarked.
Will it stick? Hard to say. Golf’s his thing Jack Nicklaus once said Trump loves it more than money and he’s not slowing down. If he lands another deal, maybe with a team desperate for a cheap arm (or a publicity stunt), he could defy the odds again. For now, though, this victory’s less about birdies and more about the baggage: a taxpayer-funded tale that’s got everyone talking, from the fairway to the White House. As the awards dinner wraps and the debate rages on, one thing’s clear Trump’s still driving the conversation, one swing at a time.
