It’s become en vogue for celebrities to virtue-signal by bashing the President.
Athletes like Kevin Durant have refused to make the customary visit to the White House after winning a championship, and other celebrities like Madonna have even “joked” about bombing the White House.
In such a toxic political climate, golfer Rory McIlroy did something that could get him in hot water.
McIlroy played a round of golf with Donald Trump and said he “enjoyed” it. McIlroy immediately caught flak for it, and was surprised at the vitriol that came his way.
From USA Today:
Rory McIlroy caught some heat earlier this year when he was pictured playing golf with President Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida. McIlroy said he was “shocked” by the controversy it stirred, adding:
“I get the divisive rhetoric and everything that was said. It’s a tough place to be in, it’s a tough position. But again, I was just doing what I felt was respectful and the president of the United States phones you up and wants to play golf with you, you know, I wasn’t going to say no.”
Speaking with CBS’ Norah O’Donnell, McIlroy talked about the round once again. He said that while they “didn’t talk politics,” he “enjoyed his time” playing with the President.
CBS News on Twitter
He said to me, ‘Rory, this is the safest you’ll ever feel playing golf with me,’ it was a cool experience,” McIlroy on playing with POTUS https://t.co/9NM8n4MJ8J
The backlash that McIlroy received made him question whether or not he would accept another invitation to play with the President of the United States.
From CNN:
Rory McIlroy previously has taken heat for playing golf with President Donald Trump.
…The four-time major champion said he would “think twice” about playing golf with the President again.
“Whenever an invitation or a request comes my way, I don’t want to say I jump at the chance, but at the same time, you know, to see the Secret Service, to see the scene, I mean, that’s really what I was going for,” McIIroy said in his session with the media.
“I mean, there was not one bit of politics discussed in that round of golf. He was more interested talking about the grass that he just put on the greens. But, yeah, look, it’s a difficult one. I felt I would have been making more of a statement if I had of turned it down. It was not a tough place to be put in, but it was a round of golf and nothing more.
“Would I do it again? After the sort of backlash I received, I’d think twice about it.”
McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, played golf with Trump in February. Shortly after, saying he was called a “fascist” and a “bigot,” McIlroy defended his decision, saying in a statement on Twitter it “wasn’t an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind.”
“It was, quite simply, a round of golf,” he said. “Golf was our common ground, nothing else.”
The media has politicized everything, even a round of golf. There used to be a time when it was inappropriate to question someone about their politics, but now it seems like an expectation.
In the case of McIlroy, it isn’t even about his political views. It’s about the optics. He and other celebrities are not even allowed to meet with Trump for fear of backlash.
Leftists need to understand that not everyone shares their level of disdain for conservatives, the President, and the country.