Donald Trump has been ridiculed after a video surfaced that apparently shows him "cheating" on the golf course.
Trump is in the news a lot nowadays, and that can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your views on him.
But this time it isn't his politics or outspoken nature that's caught the eye - it's his golf.
While in Europe, the President decided to spend some time on the green, swinging clubs at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland.
But what should have been a relaxing round quickly turned into a social media storm, thanks to a suspicious moment caught on camera.
Footage captured from inside a nearby building shows Trump arriving on the course in a golf cart, positioned left of the fairway with a bunker ahead and fescue to the left.
As the 79-year-old stepped out, two caddies walked past him - one of whom stopped, bent down, and discreetly dropped a ball onto the grass in front of the former president.
Trump then walked up, club in hand, apparently preparing to play the conveniently placed ball. The video cuts out before he takes the shot, but that was enough to send the internet into a frenzy.
Social media users were quick to accuse Trump of bending the rules once again. “Who needs a foot wedge when you have a personal ball dropper???” one user quipped on X.
A PGA professional even chimed in with a jab, writing: “Such a perfect metaphor for our Commander-in-Cheat.”
This isn’t Trump’s first brush with golf-related controversy. Over the years, several celebrities and sports figures have accused him of being less than honest on the course.
Back in January, Pulp Fiction actor Samuel L. Jackson recalled a round with Trump, saying: “Oh, I am, for sure. I don't cheat.” Trump later denied ever playing with Jackson, despite the actor’s claims, per the Daily Mail.
In 2016, Black-ish star Anthony Anderson appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and shared a similar story. “Trump is a great golfer. I'm not going to say Trump cheats. His caddy cheats for him,” Anderson said.
Asked whether he had personally seen it happen, Anderson responded: “Oh yes, several times. Several times.”
He detailed one instance where both he and Trump hit poor shots to the left. “Trump's ball had the fluffiest lie in the middle of the fairway,” Anderson said.
“Like I say, I didn't see Trump cheat because he was on the tee-box with me, but his ball was right there in the middle of the fairway.”
Even veteran sports journalist Rick Reilly has weighed in. In 2019, he wrote about Trump’s golfing antics, saying that caddies had nicknamed him “Pele” for allegedly kicking his ball to better positions.
“To say Donald Trump cheats is like saying Michael Phelps swims,” Reilly wrote in The Sunday Times.
“Trump doesn't just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card monte dealer. He throws it, boots it and moves it. Whether you're his pharmacist or Tiger Woods, if you're playing golf with him, he's going to cheat.”