Donald Trump's Golf Win Announcement Sparks Backlash Amid Tariff Fallout

The White House on Saturday announced President Donald Trump's victory in a senior golf club championship round while he faces criticism for recently imposed tariffs that have negatively impacted the stock market.

"The President won his second round matchup of the Senior Club Championship today in Jupiter, FL, and advances to the Championship Round tomorrow," the White House said in its statement.

The announcement, which sparked backlash from the president's critics on social media, came as Trump spent time at his Florida properties, golfing and attending events, including the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Miami tournament and a planned fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email on Saturday.

Why It Matters

The timing of Trump's golf activities has drawn criticism as Americans watch their retirement savings decline following his tariff announcement. Democrats like Senator Chuck Schumer of New York have accused the president of being in a "billionaire bubble" while ordinary American citizens struggle with economic concerns.

The tournament announcement is also heightened by Trump's absence from a ceremony honoring four U.S. soldiers who tragically died in a recent training accident in Lithuania.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously told Newsweek: "The Secretary of Defense will represent the Administration at the dignified transfer for the four brave U.S. service members who tragically died during a training exercise in Lithuania."

What To Know

On April 2, which Trump called "Liberation Day"—the president announced he would impose higher tariff rates on nations across the globe that run trade surpluses with the United States.

Speaking at the White House, the president said he would impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on imports from almost all countries and "reciprocal" tariffs on others, unveiling a chart showing higher duties on some of the U.S.'s most significant trading partners.

While some nations will only face the 10 percent baseline, many have been set above 30 and even higher than 40 percent. Trump says the tariffs will be paid by the foreign countries, but most economists argue these costs will simply be passed on to consumers, which would dramatically increase the price of many imported goods.

Following the announcement, Wall Street had its worst day since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. The S&P 500 index was down 4.84 percent as market closed on Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 5.97 percent, its biggest drop since the Covid crash in March 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 3.98 percent down.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the tariffs were "significantly larger than expected" and would likely cause more inflation.

Despite market turmoil, Trump defended his policies on his Truth Social platform, writing "TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE" and urging supporters to "HANG TOUGH."

Trump claimed to have spoken with Vietnamese leader To Lam about potential trade deals and criticized China for implementing retaliatory tariffs. Meanwhile, he celebrated a March jobs report showing 228,000 new jobs, claiming it validated his economic approach despite the report reflecting conditions before his tariff announcement.

What People Are Saying

X, formerly Twitter, account "Republicans against Trump" posted on X about the White House's statement: "How's this real life?"

CNN host Jake Tapper reposted the White House statement on X with the sarcastic message: "Great news, everybody!!!!!"

Blogger Majid Padellan wrote on X: "Can you imagine the uproar if President Biden skipped a dignified transfer of 4 dead U.S. soldiers to play golf instead, while at the same time, millions of 401Ks were being wiped out by his tariffs? MAGA would DEMAND impeachment. But for trump? Crickets."

Political analyst Chuck Todd wrote on X: "Just astonishingly tone deaf. Crater the world economy then spend the weekend golfing against Washington General-like competitors. Seems fairly clear he's not interested in running for any office again."

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, wrote on X: "He's mocking you, and he just so obviously doesn't care that he's wrecking the wrecking the economy and wrecking Americans' retirement accounts."

Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, defended Trump in an interview earlier this week and said: "The president is a dealmaker if nothing else, and he's going to continue to deal country by country with each of them."

President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Saturday: "THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

What Happens Next?

The economic impact of Trump's tariff policies will continue to unfold as markets react and international trade partners respond.

Trump's handling of economic matters and military obligations will likely remain under scrutiny, particularly as details emerge about the four service members who died in Lithuania: Troy Knutson-Collins, Jose Duenez Jr., Edvin Franco, and Dante Taitano.