ENGLAND striker Harry Kane has drawn criticism after revealing he played golf with US president Donald Trump, a moment he described as a "surreal experience".
The Bayern Munich star spoke to the media alongside England head coach Thomas Tuchel ahead of their crunch quarter-final tie against Norway.
It comes after Trump praised Kane at a press conference on Tuesday, describing him as a "great player" after England's 3-2 victory over Mexico the day before. In the same appearance he said "I played golf with him, I like him a lot, he's a good golfer".
Responding to journalists on Friday, Kane shared more about the meeting, explaining that he was invited to play while staying in Palm Beach, Florida around 18 months ago.
"When the president invites you somewhere... It was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him, and to play golf with him", he said, adding that it was a "unique experience".
He continued: "I played all right to be honest, we played around 18 months ago, he invited me to play when I was down in Palm Beach," adding that Trump's golfing ability is "pretty good to be honest".
Harry Kane confirms he played golf with Donald Trump: "We played about 18 months ago. He invited me to play when I was down in Palm Beach. It was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him and play golf with him"pic.twitter.com/LPBClmqvGi
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) July 11, 2026
His comments have been met with criticism from his fans online as well as anti-Trump campaigners, with one fan making the comparison to Megan Rapinoe, the former co-captain of the US Women's National Team, who refused to visit the White House in protest over Donald Trump's crimes and rhetoric.
Jake Atkinson, a spokesperson for the campaign group the Stop Trump Coalition said Kane, and other athletes, should consider how they are being used by the US president.
He said: “Anyone invited to meet Trump should reflect on how the president is trying to use them to sanitise his own image, and to divert attention from his authoritarian policies.
"Trump loves the shine of sports stars. He plans to present the World Cup trophy next week at the Met Life stadium, just ten miles from Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center where detainees have been on hunger strike.
"This is Trump’s World Cup playbook – step into the spotlight with beloved athletes whilst human rights abuses he’s committing around the world and at home are brushed aside.
"As for Harry Kane’s reflections on Trump’s golf game, I would take them with a pinch of salt – Trump is a known cheater at golf."
megan rapinoe refused to go to the white house https://t.co/xA3ynXULCY
— chloe ☆ ☆ (@uconnsbarca) July 11, 2026
At least 28 women have come forward with allegations against Trump relating to sexual misconduct. These include allegations of rape, sexual assault and groping.
A New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll . He was ordered to pay $5 million in damages after losing an appeal and having a request for the verdict to be overturned rejected.
The judge of the case has since said that evidence suggested Trump had raped Carroll according to the common definition of the word, but due to a narrower New York law definition, which requires forcible penetration, the jury found him liable of sexual abuse rather than rape.
"I'm not going to the f*****g White House', Megan Rapinoe lives like she plays pic.twitter.com/KDHMfE6vbc
— Oh My Goal (@OhMyGoalUS) June 26, 2019
He also had a close relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein , describing the disgraced financier in a 2002 New York Magazine interview a "terrific guy", adding that they both liked "beautiful women… many of them on the younger side".
Donald Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts after falsifying business records linked to payments made to porn star Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels) as hush money to silence her from speaking out about the pair engaging in sexual activity.
He was charged with four federal counts tied to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. This case has been stalled following a Supreme Court ruling.
When asked in 2019 ahead of the Fifa Women's World Cup if she would visit the White House if the US won the tournament, which it went on to do, she told reporters "I'm not going to the fucking White House".
She later urged her teammates to follow her lead, saying she "stands by" the statement.
Trump had told Rapinoe not to "disrespect our country" by refusing to attend. She went on to respond to the media, saying: "I stand by the comments that I made about not wanting to go to the White House with exception of the expletive"
"My mom would be very upset about that."
She added: "I think obviously answering with a lot of passion, considering how much time and effort and pride we take in the platform that we have, and using it for good, and for leaving the game in a better place and hopefully the world in a better place - I don't think that I would want to go.
Rapinoe, who is openly gay and is a long-standing critic of Trump said she "would encourage my team-mates" to follow her stance and not be "co-opted by an administration that doesn't feel the same way and fight for the same things we fight for".
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