Transition Meetings: Mr. Trump Goes To Bedminster!

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Perhaps realizing he'd like to not have every New Yorker mad at him for clogging up Fifth Avenue, or maybe Melania was just really sick of all the retreads kissing up to the president-elect (Kissinger!)?

Either way, Donald Trump is moving his Friday transition team meetings to Trump National Bedminster, home of the 2017 U.S. Women's Open and the 2022 PGA Championship.

S.A. Miller, reporting for the Washington Times, says no reason was given.

The transition team did not provide details of who Mr. Trump will meet with at the exclusive private golf club about 35 miles west of Manhattan.

Oy Vey Alert: Great White Shark Sensed Donald Trump Would Win, Tells Newsweek (!?) Readers All About His Wisdom

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Maybe the testosterone boost of linking Australia's prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with president-elect Trump went to the Shark's head--no, wait, that luxury-yacht left port long ago.

So we'll just assume this matchmaker role, detailed by the Daily Telegraph, prompted non-American citizen and one-time Fox Sports analyst Greg Norman from wondering if he should write this excessively first-person Newsweek piece celebrating Donald Trump's victory.

(BTW, I'd hate to think who said no before some editor announced triumphantly, "I got The Shark!")

Anyway, strap yourself in for so much "I saw this coming" talk that perhaps Norman is prepping us for the day he hangs up his chainsaw and becomes greater Jupiter's leading psychic.

I personally had a sense of this and told Donald, when President Barack Obama was campaigning for Hillary Clinton 10 days before the election, that he was going to win. Obama’s messaging was wrong and just reinforced that those wanting change would get it with Clinton. In other words, the problem was not the problem—the attitude to the problem was the problem.

How fortunate we are to share a planet with people who hear their ghost writer read sentences like that and say, BOOM! That makes perfect sense!

Let the humblebragging continue...

I have spoken to Donald on numerous occasions since the election and I think he will surprise many with what he will do with the presidency, but not himself. He has a clear vision. I believe he will fill a cabinet with quality, experienced, doers that are like-minded yet strong enough to redirect him if they so believe.

Hey, Greg maybe you should nominate yourself in the next phone call?

But go on, woo us with more deep thoughts...

A Trump presidency obviously not only affects the United States, but the rest of the world.

Deeeeeep!

Foreign policy will be a tricky one for Trump. I can only imagine that there are so many grandfathered agreements in place from previous administrations in the U.S. and abroad.

Easy there Greg, you count yourself a friend to the presidents who supported and enhanced many of thsoe agreements. I know those Bushes and Clintons are so last year to you, but they do still read.

Until he gets in there to understand those, from NATO to NAFTA to TPT to Middle East agreements to the Asia Pacific rim and many others, it is difficult to speculate.

I'm fairly certain those agreements are readable outside of the White House. Maybe Shark could read up on those grandfathered agreements and present a white paper that also includes how you'd fix Doonbeg. That's better than a cabinet post!

Will A Donald Trump Presidency Be Good For Golf?

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It's a trivial question given what's at stake. But now that the world can focus again following another Bernhard Langer win in the Schwab Cup, the complex question of Donald Trump's presidency-to-be turns to the entirely inconsequential question of what having a president-elect golfer means.

His direct ties to the game are more significant than any president before him, including Presidents Bush 41 and 43, whose ties to the Walker Cup were obviously strong. Yet having a family tie to an important amateur event pales given Trump's ownership of marquee properties hosting major tournaments.

He told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes Sunday night that he doesn't care about his businesses compared to governing America, yet project-related conflicts will inevitably arise. Besides his curiosity with projects he was very closely involved in, matters will get inevitably awkward when trying to gauge his positions. The most obvious: his campaign position on climate change conflicting with his company stance regarding a changing shoreline at Doonbeg.

With Trump's view that golf is aspirational, it's pretty safe to assume a WPA-style project to restore municipal courses won't be on the agenda to grow the game and salvage deteriorating properties. And given his criticism of Barack Obama using his time to play golf instead of helping Louisiana flood victims, we probably won't see him working the House and Senate on the golf course...oh wait, maybe we will.

There is also the likelihood of his golf properties gaining prominence from presidential visits, as this Maggie Haberman/Ashley Parker NY Times story suggests he will be spending a great deal of time outside of Washington.

Jaime Diaz of GolfDigest.com attempts to consider how Trump will perform "through the prism of golf" and besides reporting that golf has hardly been on his mind for a few months now, the ties will continue to be inescapable.

On the negative side, Trump is polarizing. He has deeply offended many with his comments (even in golf, in land use conflicts while building Trump Aberdeen), and probably will again. Also, he sees the game as “aspirational” (to some a dog whistle word that means keep the riff-raff out), reflected in an average green fee of about $250 on his public courses. Some who have played with Trump have claimed he cheats. In short, he can be seen as an easy caricature of the entitled, vulgar American golfer, a version of Judge Smails from “Caddyshack.”

Here is where things will get interesting: it's pretty well known that Presidents rarely turn into nicer, healthier or saner individuals after living in the White House. Golf has long been the primary go-to sport for presidents seeking rest, relaxation and camaraderie. Trump certainly has shown a love for the game and presumably will need days off. Will he play?

The stakes for golf in that situation are significant for the sport, insignificant compared to most other presidential matters. Because if Trump continues to avoid using golf because the imagery plays poorly with the working-class voters who helped elect him, then sterotypes mentioned by Diaz are reinforced.

Yet if Trump does use the golf course to socialize, relax or make deals, does that negatively reinforce the view of golf as merely an aspirational game for the rich and powerful?

Golf probably can't win no matter what happens, but given the badgering the sport has taken in recent years, I'm not sure golfers will be affected either way.