Trump, golf, and lions. These are the three words that are making headlines after the reason that the former president didn’t want to build golf courses in Africa was revealed.
A recent revelation in the book Peril by co-authors Bob Woodward (associate editor at the Washington Post) and Robert Costa afforded people the humorous and right-on-brand for Trump insight.
As per the Independent, upon a golf course with none other than South African golfing legend Gary Player, a conversation regarding golf courses in Africa came about after Player tried to help Trump with his swing, telling him to tone it down and swing less extravagantly.
For a nugget of context, Trump has an empire of golf courses, and has been acquiring them since 1999. By the time he was elected as the US president in 2016, he owned 17.
Within the conversation, Player reportedly encouraged Trump to expand his golf and hotel resort empire to the African continent.
Lo and behold, Trump was not for the notion, according to Peril.
“What happens, Gary, when two lions look out and say, ‘You know, that’s a pretty thick guy. I’d like to eat him. Let’s go eat him’,’’ Trump reportedly joked.
“Well, they’ve got fences and stuff,” Player expressed in an explanation.
“You mean they can’t climb over a fence?” Trump asked according to the book.
“If you get in a Jeep, they won’t come into the Jeep,” Player explained.
“How do you know they won’t come into the Jeep?” Trump asked.
“I’m not betting my life on it,” added Player.
Alright, to give Trump one nod of credit in terms of the climbing fear, lions can climb… but it’d likely be a tree. They aren’t exactly akin to scaling a fence or wall to break into a golf course.
While the conversation was seemingly humorous, some are taking the opportunity to remind Africans how Trump infamously called our nations ““s***hole countries” during a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House in 2018.
The statement came in ties with a discussion regarding immigration and questioning why the US needed to accept people from Africa and diasporic African states as per IOL.
Putting on my International Relations academic pants, I can confirm that Trump’s disposition did not cause jovial attitudes for African states, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt. However, it was on brand for Trump’s America first foreign policy. The lions are a cute excuse for hindering expansion into Africa, but if we’re being honest, did we really need another American empire taking over our hotel and resort threshold?
Maybe we can thank the ‘lions’ and their alleged scheme to climb over a fence and eat the president for keeping the Trump powers on the other side of the world’s golf course.
Picture: Instagram/ @therealdonaldtrump