Former President Donald Trump is seemingly a fan of the LIV International Golf Series, a new tour backed by the Saudi Arabia sovereign-wealth fund as a challenger to the PGA Tour. “I think LIV has been a great thing for Saudi Arabia, for the image of Saudi Arabia,” the former president is quoted as having said in an interview published Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal. “I think it’s going to be an incredible investment from that standpoint, and that’s more valuable than lots of other things because you can’t buy that — even with billions of dollars.”
See also: Nancy Pelosi’s husband sells $4 million worth of Nvidia stock at a major loss Trump’s endorsement of LIV comes just days ahead of the tour’s next event, which, not coincidentally, is set to be played at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. It’s one of two LIV events set to be held at a Trump course this year.
“ ‘I can say that, from the standpoint of Khashoggi, that has died down so much. It really seems to have totally died down.’”
— Donald Trump
Many have criticized golfers, and Trump, for their involvement with LIV, citing U.S. allegations of human-rights violations and freedom curtailments against the Riyadh regime, including, most dramatically, the murder and dismemberment of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “I can say that, from the standpoint of Khashoggi, that has died down so much,” Trump said. “It really seems to have totally died down.” “Nobody has asked me that question in months,” Trump continued, referring to the death of the Saudi national and Washington Post writer at a Saudi consular facility in Turkey. From the archives (June 2019): Trump calls Saudi crown prince ‘a friend’ and stays mum on Khashoggi murder Also (February 2021): Biden to reveal U.S. intelligence findings on Saudi leadership role in Khashoggi killing that Trump administration kept under wraps According to the State Department, Saudi Arabia stands credibly accused in recent years alone of a litany of human-rights violations, including unlawful killings; executions for nonviolent offenses; forced disappearances; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment o …