Expert: Trump’s golf game predicts his behavior everywhere else

President Donald Trump is reportedly a massive golf cheat, at least according to a prominent sportswriter discussing the sport that the president has played for more than 26 percent of the days of his second term.

"He's got a pancake swing and the yips — that's when you just can't commit to the shot, and you suddenly flinch," Rick Reilly, author of "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump," told MS NOW Ari Melber on Thursday. "He chips like Edward Scissorhands. He's just awful, especially around the green. He hits it pretty well off the tee, but when he plays his own courses, he's got a caddy who'll toss it out of the rough or out of the bunker for him. One time I saw him hit it into the lake, and suddenly he's on the fairway. I said, 'What the hell, Donald?' And he said, 'It must have hit the tee marker.'"

Reilly added, "There's no beating him at his own course, because nobody wants to get thrown out of the club. It's kind of like when you race your three-year-old in a foot race and say, 'You won"'— because nobody wants to be the one who ruins it."

Melber then asked Reilly, "We got video from last year showing a caddy dropping a ball closer to the green. But the bigger question — what did you assess years ago that this said about the man who would go on to become president of the United States?"

Reilly replied by keeping the subject about sports, not politics.

"Look, I don't know about politics, but I do know golf," Reilly told Melber. "Golf is like bicycle shorts — it reveals a lot about a man. If he's going to cheat you at golf, is he going to cheat his friends and family? He's going to cheat the country. He's going to cheat in elections. He's going to cheat on his wives and his taxes. In fact, we've asked him, 'You can't cheat me like this,' and he said, 'Well, I cheat on my wives, I cheat on my taxes — why wouldn't I cheat on my own golf course?' That's how it works."

Reilly has previously called out Trump's controversial behavior about golf. Earlier this week, Reilly posted on X that Trump has "f---" up everything, using golf as an example.

“Reflecting pool was fine," Reilly posted on X. "Now it's fenced off. Kennedy Center was fine. Now it's closed. WH was fine. Now it looks like a 99-cent Thai joint. Boats sailed thru Hormuz. Now Iran owns it. Golf was cool. Now there's a greasy orange splotch on it.”

Reilly is not alone in raising alarms about Trump's golf-related behavior. In July, it was revealed that one of Trump's golf courses has been dinged by health inspectors for various violations.

“When a Loudoun County health official visited the Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C.’s restaurant last month, the inspector spotted some invaders,” NOTUS' Dave Levinthal reported on Monday. The issues included a “large quantity of small flies” at a storage room and possible health hazards included “several food items stored at a temperature above the required 41 degrees Fahrenheit minimum. That included the blue cheese (54 degrees), sausage links (51 degrees), sausage patties (49 degrees) and pasta (49 degrees).” Additionally, the report found improperly stored “raw steak, fish and burgers above ready-to-eat foods such as tortillas and sauces.” and that the sink’s chemical sanitizer solution exceeded regulations for maximum strength level.”

In February, NOTUS also reported that Trump has been renovating Washington DC's public golf courses in ways that are making them unaffordable to all but the most affluent golfers. Trump furthered this plan by terminating the National Links Trust's lease, citing violations they dispute.

“The National Links Trust is devastated by the Trump administration’s decision to terminate our 50-year lease with the National Park Service,” the National Links Trust declared in a statement. “Since taking over stewardship of Rock Creek, East Potomac, and Langston courses five years ago, NLT has consistently complied with all lease obligations as we work to ensure the brightest possible future for public golf in DC.”