U.S. President Donald Trump has come under scrutiny after a viral clip appeared to show him receiving help on the golf course during his visit to Scotland.
Trump has long been accused of cheating at golf and the video only amplified those claims.
The short clip, widely circulating online, shows a caddy walking ahead of Trump’s golf cart at his Turnberry course before bending down and appearing to drop a ball in front of him.
Highlights
- A viral video shows Trump’s caddy dropping a ball ahead of him at Turnberry golf course, fueling longstanding cheating accusations.
- Trump’s frequent golf trips mix official duties with personal business, which has drawn criticism over taxpayer-funded costs.
- The Secret Service spent over $600,000 on golf carts and port-a-potties at Trump’s clubs in 2025 alone.
Viral video allegedly shows Trump receiving help from a caddy on the golf course
Image credits: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Moments later, Trump steps out of his cart with a club in hand and approaches the newly placed ball. The footage stops before he takes a swing.
Critics quickly seized on the footage. The term “Commander in Cheat,” a nickname popularized by sportswriter Rick Reilly, trended on X.
“The video of Trump’s caddy doing an Oddjob Slazenger drop isn’t a big deal; cheating at golf isn’t nearly the worst thing about Trump,” wrote The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols.
The White House has not yet commented on the video.
Trump has long faced accusations of bending the rules on the course.
“But watching the cult of personality try to explain it away is really some creepy North Korean-level stuff.”
Actor Samuel L. Jackson previously claimed Trump cheated when the two played together, saying, “Oh, I am [the better golfer], for sure. I don’t cheat.”
In 2016, actor Anthony Anderson said on Late Night with Seth Meyers that Trump’s caddies regularly improved his position on the course.
“Trump is a great golfer. I'm not going to say Trump cheats. His caddy cheats for him,” he joked.
Reilly’s 2019 book Commander in Cheat details numerous alleged incidents of Trump’s questionable play.
“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,” Reilly wrote.
“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.”
The viral clip was filmed during Trump’s multi-day “working trip” to Scotland, where he has combined business and leisure activities.
Trump has long been accused of mixing business and leisure
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Over the weekend, he met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Turnberry to announce a new EU trade deal featuring a 15 percent flat tariff for some European goods entering the U.S.
He is also expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new course in Aberdeenshire.
The White House has described the trip as “working,” while praising Trump, who they say “has built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport.”
However, critics say the trip underscores Trump’s long-standing practice of blending his official duties with promotion of his private business.
The president’s frequent visits to his resorts have drawn scrutiny over taxpayer costs.
The Secret Service reportedly spent over $600,000 on golf carts and port-a-potties at Trump’s New Jersey club this year alone.
Despite the administration’s recent moves to cut government spending, Trump has already spent $10.7 million of taxpayer money on golf trips since taking office this year, according to HuffPost.
Trump, who has golfed at least 45 of his 189 days in office this year, also faced backlash in April for attending a Saudi-backed LIV Golf event while skipping a ceremony for the return of four fallen U.S. soldiers.
The Trump administration has reportedly spent $10 million of taxpayer money on golf trips this term
Image credits: Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Meanwhile, the Trump Organization continues to pursue international deals, including a recent agreement to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
That deal came weeks before Qatar gifted the U.S. a $400 million Boeing 747 to serve as the new Air Force One.
“He is president and is supposed to be working in the public’s interest,” James Thurber, an emeritus professor at American University, told The Associated Press last month.
“Instead, he is helping his own personal interest to grow his wealth. It’s totally not normal.”