Donald Trump Jr. Calls for Biden vs. Trump Golf Match

Donald Trump Jr. has called for President Joe Biden to face his father in a golf match following the presidential candidates' debate.

On June 27, Biden and former President Donald Trump met in Atlanta for their first presidential debate in this election cycle. Polls showed the Democratic incumbent and his Republican opponent locked in a close race, with a little more than four months to go before the election. During the TV clash, the two candidates sparred over issues such as the economy, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, immigration, and abortion.

Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78, also faced age-related questions. CNN's Dana Bash, who co-moderated the debate, asked the candidates about their ages, prompting the Republican to discuss his fitness and cognitive abilities, before segueing into the topic of golf, a sport he is known to be passionate about.

The former president said Biden had previously challenged him to a golf match, to which the Democrat responded, "I'd be happy to have a driving contest."

On X, formerly Twitter, Donald Trump Jr. seized on this portion of the debate and proposed that the two candidates meet on the golf course.

"Let's make this golf match happen STAT!!!!" he wrote. "I'll bet everything I have on it on my father. Any takers after watching this tonight??? Didn't think so!!!"

During the debate, Donald Trump said: "I just won two club championships—not even senior, two regular club championships. To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. And I do it. He doesn't do it. He can't hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match; he can't hit a ball 50 yards."

"I'd be happy to have a driving contest with him," Biden replied. "I got my handicap when I was vice president down to a six. By the way, I told you before, I'm happy to play golf with you if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?"

"That's the biggest lie—that he was a six handicap—of all," Donald Trump said, adding: "I've seen your swing. I know your swing. Let's not act like children."

Slate reported that Biden's most recent official handicap index, recorded in 2018 by the United States Golf Association, was a 6.7.

In March, Donald Trump announced that he had won both the Club Championship and the Senior Club Championship at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. He also claimed Super Senior Championship glory earlier in the year.

Rick Reilly, a former Sports Illustrated columnist who has known the former president for three decades, responded to Donald Trump's social media announcement by challenging him to compete on a golf course that doesn't fall under his portfolio of properties.

"Call us if you ever win one on a course you DON'T own and operate," Reilly wrote on X in March.

Donald Trump has a self-reported handicap of 2.8. However, Reilly said in 2019 that the onetime real estate mogul's handicap was likely close to 10.

"Donald Trump is the worst cheat ever and he doesn't care who knows," he told The Guardian at the time. "I always say golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man. And golf reveals a lot of ugliness in this president."

Reilly, the author of Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, also told the outlet: "He has recorded only 20 scores in eight years even though he plays more golf than any other president. I put in my every score in the computer because that's what you do in golf. At my club guys will put in your score for you if you're avoiding it. Trump doesn't put in scores. That's so unethical."

In golf, ability is ranked on a handicap system, which is a numerical measure of a golfer's skill or potential ability and allows players of different levels to compete against each other. The USGA is responsible for the calculation and evaluation of golf handicaps. The lower the handicap, the better.

In Commander in Cheat, Reilly wrote that Donald Trump "doesn't just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card monte dealer. He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs.

"At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: 'Pele.'"