Trump Gets More Applause than Protests with Visit to Women’s Open

Donald Trump
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Warner Todd Huston
Bedminster, NJ

President Donald Trump appeared at the Women’s Open last Friday bringing both protesters and supporters, but despite the detractors, the president received far more applause than protests.

The president arrived on Friday, to the delight of hundreds of attendees at the Women’s Open. Trump was met with chants of “Make America Great Again,” and “USA, USA,” according to the Daily Mail.

Golf fans and Trump supporters strained to get a glimpse and photo of the president as he toured his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort where the Women’s Open kicked off last week.

Competitor Lauren Stephenson said all the hubbub was distracting as she swung to even par on Friday, but also said Trump is the president so gets a pass.

“It was definitely a little distracting,” she said. “We had a lot of people yelling and just a lot of movement, but it’s pretty cool to be in the presence of the president, so I guess he gets a pass,” she said.

10th place Brooke Henderson agreed.

“It’s really amazing that the president of the United States is here to watch us play golf and on a tremendous golf course,’ she said. ‘I’m really excited, and it was a great opportunity,” she said.

Not all players were pleased to see the president. Two weeks ago, two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome said she hoped that Trump would skip a visit to Bedminster during the tournament.

“Hopefully, maybe, he doesn’t show up, and it won’t be a big debacle, and it will be about us and not him,” Lincicome said at the end of June. “I don’t know him. I have met him probably once. I think it will be fine. We’re going to play an amazing golf course and let our clubs do the talking.”

The president’s visit came on the heels of announcements that left-wing feminist groups intended to protest the tournament.

Indeed, a small group of up to 30 protesters did appear, taking up vigil in the designated protest area several miles from the resort, NJ.com reported.

Calling Trump a “sexual predator,” the protesters faced off against some 50 supporters of the president. Both sides yelled and traded insults for a period of time, and the confrontations were at times contentions the paper reported.

For his part, the president later took note of the disparity in the sizes of the two groups with a Sunday tweet.

“Thank you to all of the supporters, who far outnumbered the protesters, yesterday at the Women’s U.S. Open,” President Trump tweeted on Sunday. “Very cool!”

The president also congratulated Sung Hyun Park, the winner of the tournament:

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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