‘Membership Being a Trump has its privileges’
If you’re an older fart like me you remember iconic American Express ads and signature tag lines. “Don’t Leave Home Without” was the first that became a general catchphrase in the 1979, then in the 80s we got “Membership has its privileges” I think it’s safe to say we’ve already learned bing a Trump has extraordinary (and undeserved) privileges even rich white folks can only envy. That includes golf-obsessed Trump’s getting his granddaughter a Sponsors Exemption to play in one of the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s premier events. Not a mere Wednesday Pro-Am mind you, but a slot in the actual tournament field! To the actual professional golfer who got bumped Trump’s attitude is ‘Suck it. Kai is a Trump and YOU’RE not.’
Trump as you know plays golf whenever he can, spending millions of taxpayer dollars a year on travel to HIS golf courses. It’s way easy for him to get away with all his CHEATING r.e. his score when he only plays at places he owns. I’m sure he’s spent time time teaching Junior’s daughter the fine points of cheating. Alas, playing in actual junior golf sanctioned events it’s awfully tough to get away with cheating. Granted, she’s show flashes of modest talent but she’s ranked 461st among amateur girls (not women, the girls category for the young ones that are used to determine fields for USGA sanctioned events) so there’s a ways to go before she’s good enough to take a crack at earning, earning mind you LPGA membership someday.
Kai Trump is a moderately talented junior golfer, who likely will be playing college golf next year (Miami’s Hurricanes if I’m not mistaken) next fall. No doubt because of who she is and for a person who might have through talent and hard work have her spot on the team because they actually EARNED it. Who are better than Kai? Too bad. Find somewhere else to play. I mean, what’s the point of being a Trump if you can’t screw over non- Trump people to get what you want?
Now she’s doing it to someone who makes their living playing golf. Taking a spot away from a deserving player at an actual LPGA event and not just any event. Women’s golf’s final even of the year is the proverbial ‘big one’ both in it being their tour championship (players only make the field by qualifying on points earned playing in sanctioned tour events during the year) and by far the biggest amount of prize money. It’s like a major championship both in prestige and money. It’s also typical for pros on both men’s and women’s tours to like to play the week before a major or ‘major equivalent’, for reasons I won’t bore you with. That why the upcoming event Kai Trump will play in and the fact she’s got a spot in the field is a big deal. Not about just rich white privilege but TRUMP privilege.
The penultimate LPGA event is especially prestigious due to what I already spoke about – a top quality field with virtually all the top women golfers having qualified and signed up. Then there’s the host. Annika Sorenstam is universally regarded as one of the top women golfers ever. She’s only in her mid-fifties and retired from tour play a long time ago but she’s still an icon. And she’s still got some game I might add. The point is she’s among women’s golf royalty and that’s why the tournament she hosts is commonly referred to as “The ANNIKA.” It’s a BFD to be able to play in it.
Like any other gal who is a pro golfer or aspires to be one, or at least achieve fame as an amateur Kai Trump has dreamed of playing in that tournament. It’s right there in Florida even! You will never, ever EVER convince me that a phone call wasn’t made “suggesting” that Kai get a Sponsor’s Exemption into the field. (The sponsor puts up the prize money and in exchange gets publicity and preferred ad rights) Sponsor’s Exemptions are known to raise eyebrows sometimes. Golfers ‘off their game’ and well down in the world rankings have gotten them BUT they have past accomplishments that can be pointed to AND a proven marketability. Rickie Fowler who seldom had a season that measured up to his seeming potential comes to mind.
On the ladies side someone might say what about Michelle Wei, Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson or Brooke Henderson who got sponsors exemptions into LPGA events at even younger ages than Kai Trump? Every won of them had had far more success as amateurs and even WON actual events including some big ones. Kai Trump simply has NOTHING remotely approaching what any of those gals (and others) who got sponsors exemptions did. Hell, Thompson QUALIFIED for her first LPGA event at the age of 12 – it was the USGA Women’s U.S. Open! Michelle Wei was 11 (if memory serves) when she WON the Hawaiian Open as an amateur. And so on.
My point is that the GOP Congress and SCOTUS haven’t yet crowned Trump King he’s acting like one. Shame on the LPGA and the sponsor for giving in to him. As I said this is a political blog but this illustrates the increasing expansiveness of the power Trump has attained. And that he’s not done. Not by a long shot. He’s out to force everyone to treat his family like royals too, giving them perks/privileges just because he ‘King’ Donald says to. Well, except for Mary Trump. For her it will be a “Perks” version of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi. At best. I’m betting he’ll be siccing the DOJ on her instead.
What really galls me about this is that there was a way for bratty little Kai Trump to get some exposure to boost her social media following and NIL money so she can live it up when she starts college next year. Last year one of the most watched (both the crowd on the course and in what TV coverage there was) was rookie WNBA start Caitlin Clark played the 18 hole Wednesday pro am with Sorrenstam herself and Nelly Korda who’d had an epic season. The aforementioned Lexi Thompson is only semi-retired and has publicly backed Trump. So has seemingly former LPGA pro Natalie Gulbis who spent more time modeling, especially swimwear than trying to win golf tournaments. That’s a group that would get a lot of eyeballs.
But nooooooo, the little brat who again I remind you is ranked down at 461 on the JUNIOR, and AMATEUR women’s rankings (it would be in the thousands if it was the whole thing, amateurs, professionals, women and juniors) wanted to unlike Wannabe Princess Ivanka ‘Playing Government’ want to ‘Play pro golfer.’ So somebody that could have earned a paycheck (and the women don’t get paid anywhere near what men do for most events so every prize check matters) will have to sit home while Kai Trump takes her spot and misses the cut after two rounds which is virtually certain. Top competition on a damned tough golf course. Not to mention with all those fans lining every fairway and every green watching there will be no doing what grandpa taught her. Unlimited Mulligans for “reasons.’ ‘Foot Wedges (using your foot to tap/kick your ball out of trouble), scorecard fudging (players keep EACH OTHER”S scores – when you sign your card you are verifying they got the score for each hole correctly) and so on.
Well, she’ll get to play out her little fantasy. I hope someday when she actually has to QUALIFY for the tour she fails. In the meantime however I can’t help but think of a segment from Mel Brook’s History of the world where he plays the decadent, a-hole French King. After being a jerk he looks at the camera each time and smugly says “It’s good to be King.’ That Trump now. And his granddaughter will undeservedly get to tee it up at one of the LPGA’s most prestigious non-major events thinking “It’s good to be the King’s granddaughter.” I’m calling on the Golf Gods to step in… and cause her to shank her drive! (for non golfers a shank is hitting the ball not with the clubhead but where the shaft of the club. It’s worse than a whiff/miss because the ball actually flies off in some crazy direction! Embarrassing as hell!)
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Oh the irony! A liberal complaining that someone took the place of a more deserving person in a sporting event. At least she’s the proper gender to compete in a women’s event, and exemptions happen all the time.
What’s the matter Denis, run out of things to write about? C’mon, give me a good Schumer shut down piece or talk about all the trade deals the President is making…