Biden changes tune on Trump golf challenge he was once 'happy to play'
President Biden's re-election campaign dismissed former President Trump's challenge to a charity golf match as “weird antics," just months after the president said he'd be "happy to play."
President Biden's re-election campaign dismissed former President Trump's challenge to a charity golf match as "weird antics" on Tuesday, just months after the president stated himself that he would be "happy to play."
At a campaign rally at his Doral course in South Florida on Tuesday, Trump posed a challenge to Biden: a golf match with $1 million to a charity of Biden's choice if the former president were to lose.
"I'm also officially challenging crooked Joe to an 18-hole golf match right here on Doral's Blue Monster, considered one of the greatest tournament golf courses anywhere in the world, one of the great courses of the world," Trump said. "It will be among the most-watched sporting events in history. Maybe bigger than the Ryder Cup or even the Masters."
"I will even give Joe Biden 10 strokes a side. Ten strokes, that's a lot. That means 20 strokes, in case you don't play golf. And if he wins, I will give the charity of his choice, any charity of his choice, $1 million. And I'll bet you he doesn't take the offer."
TRUMP CHALLENGES BIDEN TO GOLF MATCH, SAYS HE'LL GIVE $1 MILLION TO CHARITY IF HE LOSES
Firing back at Trump's comments, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement, "Donald Trump hasn’t been seen in public for 12 days, now he’s inviting fictional serial killers to dinner, teasing lil’ Marco Rubio, praising Project 2025 architect Tom Homan, and challenging the President of the United States to golf."
"Joe Biden doesn’t have time for Donald Trump’s weird antics – he’s busy leading America and defending the free world. Donald Trump is a liar, a convict, and a fraud only out for himself – par for the course," Singer added.
Singer's comments came a little more than three months after Biden signaled he would be willing to take on the former president in a round of golf.
"Donald, my offer to play golf still stands. I’ll let you take three strokes off your game if you carry your own bag," Biden wrote in a March 30 post on X.
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Included in the post was a clip of Biden telling comedian Stephen Colbert that he would be "happy to play" golf against Trump.
The possibility of a golf match between the former and current president was also highlighted during the first presidential debate on June 27 in Atlanta, where Trump said he won two club championships while discussing fitness and insisted Biden couldn't drive a ball 50 yards.
Insisting at the time that he would be "happy to have a driving contest" with Trump, Biden alleged that he had gotten his golf handicap down to a six as vice president, and he later corrected it to an eight.
However, Trump, an avid golfer, was not buying it.
"That’s the biggest lie — that he’s a six handicap — of all," he said. Trump's handicap has been recorded as low as 2.5.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has also offered to settle the debate over which president is the better golfer by hosting a golf match between Biden and Trump on his YouTube channel.
"Let’s settle this whole handicap debate, I’ll host the golf match on my YouTube," DeChambeau wrote in an X post after the debate.
Trump owns several golf courses. Doral has hosted the LIV championship, while his course in Bedminster has also hosted the Saudi-backed tour.
Fox News Digital's Ryan Morik and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.