A sit down with Donald Trump to talk Golf and the Presidency!

Written by Mel Sole on March 8, 2016. Posted in Golf News

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Love him or hate him, Donald Trump moves the needle!

He always expresses a refreshing opinion, compared to the humming and hawing of most politicians. He certainly has been successful in his business enterprises, and with golf being at the forefront, how will his position (if he is elected President) affect his courses? Jaime Diaz of Golf Digest sits down with Donald to get some answers.

This interview was conducted in Donald Trump’s office on the 26th floor of the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The day before, the PGA of America had cancelled this year’s Grand Slam of Golf, which had been scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in October, but was moved from that venue after Trump’s controversial comments about Mexican immigrants in July, which caused several corporations to disassociate from him. Trump, 69, seemed unbothered by the news, he and his spokesman pointing out that he still has three years on his contract to host the event, and that the decision to move the venue had allowed time to remove a waterfall on the course.

You’ve become a major player in golf. How would you compare how you’ve reached that station to how you’ve become a major political player in your run for President?

I think very different in one way, and very similar in another. My golf is very high end. Great locations, great courses, highly acclaimed. And the word quality is important. I have locations that are good for many other things. So I’m not necessarily stuck in the world of golf. But I choose to be. But I have land that is so valuable, that if I ever wanted to do housing on it, as an example, but I just don’t choose to do that.

For government, you have to do it differently, but I think the quality of what we would do would be much better. Our infrastructure has to be rebuilt. Our bridges are literally crumbling. They need work and nobody is doing anything. Our roads, our schools, our airports. So I think I’d start a process where we would have a much higher quality at a much lesser cost. I think there would be far better management. You look at the vets, how badly they’ve been treated. Reports have come out that 300,000 vets have died waiting to get into the Veteran’s administration.

A sit down with Donald Trump to talk Golf and the Presidency!

It’s probably at the worst point it’s ever been. So I think the management of the country would be much better. And I think I get great credit for management, not only for my golf courses but the way I manage the company.

I’m not “mean and lean.”

I respect lean and mean, but I don’t think my style is lean and mean. I spend more money than I would have to. But I like to see it perfect. And I see a lot of people who spend a lot of money and don’t make it perfect, and that’s the worst of all combinations.

There is tremendous fat in government. A lot can be cut. We have to, because look at the budget deficits that we have. Look at the money that we owe. We owe $19 trillion. That’s hard to believe. That’s a big job when you think of it.

But one thing about government, you have to manage, but you also have to manage with a heart. You need heart. In golf you don’t have to manage with heart. Or in business you don’t necessarily have to manage with heart. But in government you do have to manage with heart. And I understand that.

What have you learned from the presidential experience?

Well, I had no idea it would be this big, number one. Because when you look at what’s happening in terms of the level of popularity and the polls, I didn’t think it would be that fast. Nobody thought I was going to run. Once I made the announcment, it’s all started to happen very fast.

Number two, it’s a nasty business. It’s nasty. I find great dishonesty. Sort of the opposite of golf, I find great dishonesty in the world of politics.

To read the rest of this interesting interview, go here!

Source: Jaime Diaz Golf Digest

Pictures: Getty Images

Thanks for reading – A sit down with Donald Trump to talk Golf and the Presidency!

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A sit down with Donald Trump to talk Golf and the Presidency!

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump moves the needle!

You’ve become a major player in golf. How would you compare how you’ve reached that station to how you’ve become a major political player in your run for President?

I’m not “mean and lean.”

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