Former United States President Donald Trump urged golfers to join LIV Golf and “take the money” now ahead of the series’ next event at Trump National Golf Bedminster at the end of the month.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday, per CNN.
“If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”
Trump’s comments come soon after the families of 9/11 victims asked him to cancel the upcoming event in New Jersey, scheduled for July 29 to 31, citing LIV Golf’s connections to the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. An advocacy group named 9/11 Justice sent a letter Sunday to express “deep pain and anger” over Trump’s decision to host the tournament, pointing out that the former President himself has blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks on a number of occasions.
“It is incomprehensible to us, Mr. Trump, that a former president of the United States would cast our loved ones aside for personal financial gain,” the group wrote in the letter, per CNBC.
Fifteen of the 19 attackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens, but the Saudi government has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks, according to CNN.
LIV Golf released a statement responding to the letter Monday.
“As we have said all along, these families have our deepest sympathy,” the statement said, per CNN. “While some may not agree, we believe golf is a force for good around the world.”
The tournament at the end of the month won’t be the last LIV-related event to take place at a Trump golf course. This year’s final event, a team championship, will be hosted by the former president’s Doral course in Miami.
