Donald Trump claims Patriots coach Bill Belichick kissed him in new book

A new book set for release in May contains a bizarre and tenuous story involving former President Donald Trump and New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick.

In This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of the New York Times recall an April 2021 interview with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in which he complains about Belichick refusing the Presidential Medal of Freedom that January, not long after the Trump-led insurrection at the United States Capitol.

Belichick publicly declined Trump’s offer at the time.

"Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients. Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award,” Belichick said. “Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom, and democracy. I know I also represent my family and the New England Patriots team. One of the most rewarding things in my professional career took place in 2020 when, through the great leadership within our team, conversations about social justice, equality, and human rights moved to the forefront and became actions. Continuing those efforts while remaining true to the people, team, and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award."

But according to an excerpt of the book obtained by Yahoo News, Trump claimed that he and Belichick rekindled their bromance by happenstance at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida that March – and his recounting contains a questionable series of events.

Yahoo News explained on Sunday that Trump was dining with golfer Dana Quigley while Belichick was seated at a nearby table. At some point, Trump, who has claimed to have “one of the great memories of all time,” claimed that all sorts of public figures were throwing themselves at him in the aftermath of his failed coup.

“Trump bragged that it was not only Republican politicians who had crawled back to his side after briefly rejecting him after January 6,” the authors wrote. “One of the rejections that had bothered him the most had come from Bill Belichick, the legendary coach of the New England Patriots who had declined Trump’s attempt to grant him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the immediate aftermath of the riot, it was just not possible for him to appear with Trump. Back then, Trump said, Belichick had ‘chickened out.’ But get this, Trump confided: The coach had just a week earlier been playing golf at Trump’s nearby course. Trump had run into him there on the second-to-last hole. ‘He came up to me on the seventeenth,’ the former commander-in-chief recounted with relish. Stretching credulity for anyone familiar with Belichick’s gruff persona, Trump claimed: ‘He hugged me and kissed me.’”