Trump resort to host Saudi Arabia-backed golf tournament, as negotiations over tariffs continue
The stock market took the biggest hit on Thursday since early COVID-19 times, but President Donald Trump continued on Friday to express confidence in his administration's large-scale tariff plan.
'THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!' the president said in a Truth Social post Friday morning from Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach.
The United States will 'have 6 or 7 trillion dollars coming into our country,' thanks to these import taxes, Trump told the White House press pool on Thursday afternoon before heading to Florida, where he is set to attend the LIV Golf tournament. The tournament will be held at the Trump National Doral Golf Club, the host of the three-day event, as it has the last four seasons.
But, according to The Wall Street Journal, this marks the first time Trump is hosting the Saudi Arabia-backed golf tournament while also holding the office of president.
Trump hasn't indicated whether he will play in the tournament. Meanwhile, his son Donald Trump Jr. teed up a round with pros like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson at the LIV Golf Pro-Am earlier on Thursday, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also in the mix.
A few hours after his initial post Friday, Trump said he had 'a very productive call' with Tô Lâm, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, about striking an agreement to slash Vietnam's tariffs from 46% to zero. He welcomed a meeting with the heads of the Southeast Asian country.
Foreign diplomacy is at the top of his mind as Trump navigates the effects of his tariffs on the U.S. economy. He appears interested in making deals on the golf course this weekend.
He told the White House press pool he is interested in a merger between the two biggest golf circuits — the PGA Tour and the Saudi-owned LIV Golf.
'That'll be good. I'm involved in that too,' he said.
This potential merger has been in the works for years.
'He loves golf, by the way,' two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau told Fox News.
'I think he's such a great ambassador for the game of golf and for diplomacy, in general,' DeChambeau said. 'It's been fun to play some golf with him, get to know him a little bit better, and just recognize that he's just a normal person.'
Trump's friendly relationship with Saudi Arabia extends beyond the golf course. He is set to visit this gulf country in May, marking his first international visit since becoming president.
The trip will include pressure on Israel and Saudi Arabia to help reestablish a ceasefire in Gaza and for Hamas to release more hostages, as Axios reported.
'I am going to Saudi Arabia. Normally you would go to the UK first. Last time I went to Saudi Arabia. They put up 450 billion dollars,' Trump told reporters in early March.
'This time I said I will go if you put up a trillion dollars to American companies. Meaning the purchase over four years of a trillion dollars. They agreed to do that. So I am gonna be going there,' he said.
As his relationship with Saudi Arabia pulls him away from his presidential duties this weekend, some onlookers criticized Trump for not being available for the return of four service members who died during a training exercise in Lithuania. Instead, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'will represent the Administration at the dignified transfer,' according to the White House.
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