Former U.S. President Donald Trump has doubled down in his praise for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series as he continues to ignore protests by the families of those affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The 76-year-old has been criticised for agreeing to host two events on the inaugural LIV Golf Series, which is funded by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It was found that 15 of the 19 bombers involved in executing 9/11 were Saudi citizens, and Trump himself has in the past blamed the Kingdom for their role in the attacks.
"I think LIV has been a great thing for Saudi Arabia, for the image of Saudi Arabia," Trump told the Wall Street Journal ahead of this week's LIV Golf event at his Bedminster course in New Jersey. "I think it's going to be an incredible investment from that standpoint, and that's more valuable than lots of other things because you can't buy that—even with billions of dollars.
"I do think that the publicity that they've gotten, more than anything, has been a great thing for them. I think the publicity they've gotten is worth billions of dollars. It's one of the hottest things to have happened in sports, and sports is a big part of life."
An ad campaign was released on Tuesday criticising the former president for agreeing to host the Saudi-run contest on his own courses. The clip shows family members holding up pictures of loved ones they lost in the attacks while aiming questions at Trump.
One woman can be heard asking, “How much money to turn your back on your own country?” Another man who appeared in the ad pointed out this weekend's competition "is taking place 50 miles from Ground Zero.”
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But Trump said he 'doesn't know much about the 9/11 families' as part of an incoherent address of the matter. "I don't know what is the relationship to this, and their very strong feelings, and I can understand their feelings," he continued. "I can't really comment on that because I don't know exactly what they're saying, and what they're saying who did what."
Trump followed up by saying the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi —killed during his presidency by men closely associated with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman—had "died down so much." The ex-U.S. leader said no-one had even asked him about the former Washington Post journalist's death "in months," as if to suggest that were reason enough to forget it had ever happened.
The Bedminster portion of this year's LIV Golf Series is set to get underway on Friday. Henrik Stenson will make his first appearance in the breakaway league after leaving the PGA Tour and being stripped of Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy.
