MULLIGAN

Morning Show Hosts Troll Trump for Apparent Golf Cheating

The president’s not-so-subtle maneuver caught attention over the weekend.

The hosts of CBS Mornings are joining in on the internet’s trolling of President Donald Trump for his controversial golf maneuver.

On Monday, co-hosts Vladimir Duthiers, Adriana Diaz, and Nate Burleson poked fun at the president for seemingly allowing his caddies to break a basic golf rule on his behalf during his trip to Scotland over the weekend.

Presenting a video of Trump’s golf game at his Turnberry course, Duthiers quipped that the president’s caddy “may have been a little too helpful.”

The footage shows one of Trump’s caddies subtly dropping a golf ball in front of the president after Trump hit the last ball into the rough.

In short, the maneuver—which the caddy attempted to conceal by dropping the ball behind his back—allowed the president to play from an easier spot on the course.

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As Burleson explained, the caddy’s not-so-stealthy move appears to be offering Trump a Mulligan, or an informal, rule-breaking do-over for a player who made a bad hit.

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Some online have defended the move as a “provisional,” meaning Trump may have hit the ball out of bounds, and the caddy was simply following standard golf procedure by dropping the ball at the place where the president last hit.

However, Burleson was unconvinced.

“As a golfer, you’re supposed to do your own drop if you can’t find your ball,” said Burleson. “Not your caddy just doing a no-look pass.”

“When it’s behind the back, that looks a little suspicious,” agreed Diaz.

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“People online have been having a field day with this, and not because other presidents don’t take Mulligans all the time when they play golf,” Duthiers explained.

He added that former President Bill Clinton leaned on the illegal tactic so much that he earned the nickname “Billigan” from sports writer Rick Reilly.

Instead, Duthiers said he thinks the backlash came because “Trump is always talking about how good his golf game is.”

The president has a self-reported handicap index of 2.6. In golf, a player’s handicap index measures their demonstrated ability, and a lower score indicates a higher skill level.

“Come on, bro!” joked Duthiers. “You can’t be doing that.”

The hosts of CBS Mornings weren’t the only people to catch on to Trump’s questionable move. Over the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newsom also used the caddy footage to make a jab at the president on X.

“Trump. Rigging the game,” wrote Newsom’s office. “We’re shocked!”

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