Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 28, 2022 (Image: Shutterstock)
One of Donald Trump's biggest war-hawk allies reportedly helped convince him to pursue his latest military strikes, and according to a Wednesday report from Politico, he did so using the president's most beloved pastime, golf.
Over the weekend, Trump confirmed that the U.S. had joined Israel in conducting a major joint military operation against Iran, first launching strikes against major leadership targets. In the wake of counterstrikes from the Iranian military, reports have confirmed that six American service members have been killed so far.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has been among the most vocal supporters of Trump's use of military force against foreign nations, championing his operations in Venezuela and Iran, and pushing for him to target Cuba next. According to Politico, Graham was instrumental in convincing the president to approve strikes against Iran, and "to the surprise of no one familiar with the relationship between" them, did so over rounds of golf.
Speaking to Politico for the piece, Graham discussed the games of golf he played with Trump shortly after he won reelection in 2024, during which he had "lots of advice." Among the issues discussed on the links, Graham stressed that Iran's government had to be "collapsed" in order for the incoming president's plans for peace in the Middle East to stick.
"We were thinking about this early, early on about how Iran is a spoiler for expanding the Abraham Accords and stability in the Mideast,” Graham told the outlet. “I told him before he took office… if you can collapse this terrorist regime, that’s Berlin Wall stuff."
That initial conversation over golf continued as an "ongoing conversation" over the course of months, and was reignited in a "flurry of one-on-one lobbying" over the last few weeks. Graham last spoke to Trump about attacking Iran roughly 48 hours before he approved the strikes.
“There was a real fight not to do it,” Graham said. “Let Israel do it by itself or just not do much. So we talked a lot about this: ‘Mr. President, you want to have your fingerprints on this. You want them to know America will fight.’”
Trump's golf habit has been well documented during his time as president, given that each excursion ends up costing a considerable amount in taxpayer dollars. As of the start of 2026, it was reported that he had played golf more often during the first year of his second term than in the first year of his first term.
Doctors recently highlighted his golf habit as a likely factor in the red rash Trump was spotted with this week, as extended time out in the sun for someone with the president's skin type can often produce "precancer" cells that require preventative skincare treatments.