John Daly put Donald Trump on speakerphone during rant about Russia

Former President Donald Trump has always maintained a close-knit relationship with the world of golf.

After his election in 2016, he played rounds with pro legends like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and his organization sponsored Bryson DeChambeau until that partnership dissolved following the events of January 6th, 2021. Those same events led to Trump’s Bedminster golf course losing this May’s PGA Championship to Southern Hills.

So when video emerged today via @NoPopsGolf on Instagram purporting to show Trump ranting to John Daly about how he would have handled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine differently, it’s somehow less surprising than it should be. Of course Donald Trump would call John Daly and complain, while also embellishing his own diplomatic prowess and insinuating that he threatened to nuke Moscow.

You can watch the original video above, or via this tweet shared by Golf.com’s Tim Reilly:

(A note: the captions misidentify “Xi” as “she” there, which helps fill in some of that puzzle.)

So, having watched it: what the fuck!

It’s hard to really pick the wildest aspect of that scene, although a strong contender is how unruffled Daly himself seems to be by the entire experience. Even for someone as laconic as John Daly, that is not the demeanor one has if it’s one’s first time serving as a sounding board for a former President. The fact that Trump is on speakerphone for the whole grill room/patio/wherever this group is located only adds to the surrealism.

Daly (maybe to his credit, although it’s dangerous to assign too much credit to anyone here) has the air of a man who just wants to get the hell off the phone. It’s the same strategy I used to employ working in a call center, where we were unable to hang up on clients, even the crazier ones who just wanted to rant about how the government was going to destroy everything. It’s a classic “humor them until they talk themselves out” strategy.

In any case, what an impossible reality we’re in right now, where John Daly is in a president’s circle of trust (despite being willing to put him on speakerphone in front of a room full of people clearly recording the call.)

[@NoPopsGolf/image via NoPopsGolf on Instagram]