Former President Donald Trump has not played golf since an apparent assassination attempt near one of his courses on Sept. 15, and he will not do so until after the election, according to a person close to the campaign and another person familiar with the situation.
A third person familiar with the conversations said Trump was told that federal agents could not ensure his safety to a degree that they were comfortable with if he were to play. The concerns were conveyed in two conversations with Trump since the September incident: one with Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, and the other with officials from the national intelligence director’s office.
The safety issue had been on Trump’s mind.
Trump had asked Rowe during a meeting last month whether it would be safe for him to continue golfing in the wake of the thwarted assassination attempt, and he was told he would need significant additional security given the proximity of some of his courses to public roads, The New York Times reported last month, citing information from three people familiar with their conversation.
Being unable to play golf is a significant change to Trump’s schedule and lifestyle. He has 18 golf properties around the world — including courses in Oman and Dubai — and the sport has been a fixture in his life throughout his three campaigns and his presidency.As president, he spent over 260 days at his various golf properties. It is unclear whether he golfed each time — unlike previous administrations, his White House would typically not say whether he was golfing or whom he was golfing with.
If Trump goes without golfing through Election Day, it will be the longest time he has gone without playing since the pandemic, which kept him off the links for over two months.