It’s no secret that President Donald Trump enjoys golf almost as much as he enjoys bragging about his prowess at it. He has repeatedly delivered boasts such as, “There’s very few people that can beat me in golf,” though he himself has admitted to cheating. He’s even been caught doing so on film, and there have been entire books written on his propensity for flouting rules on the links. Then on Tuesday, the world got an unvarnished look at his skills with a club during the White House’s Presidential Fitness Day event, but it didn’t go well.
Putting before an audience of retired pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau and a bevy of onlooking children, the president took and missed three six-foot putts as “Eye of the Tiger” played in the background.
While there is ostensibly nothing surprising about the fact that a 79-year-old would have some trouble on the green, the video is worth mentioning due to the simple fact that Trump brags about his skill so frequently. He’s played more rounds of golf while serving than any president, and famously owns several golf resorts.
The event was held in tandem with Trump’s restoration of the Presidential Fitness Test, a competitive fitness test that was first introduced in 1950, then phased out during the Obama administration in favor of a more comprehensive health and wellness program over concerns that the former approach contributed to bullying. While signing the proclamation that restored the test, Trump joked that he himself only works out “one minute a day, max.”
In the past, Trump has claimed that he considers exercise misguided, as he believes humans are born with a finite amount of energy that can be used up like a battery. It is important to note that there is nothing factual about such a claim.
He’s also offered a more believable explanation for his aversion to exercise, saying, “I just don’t like it. It’s boring. To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours like some people do, that’s not for me.”