“A lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep.” Sure, that’s a line from “Game of Thrones,” but it certainly applies to golfer Tiger Woods and his response to the media attempting to bait him into saying something negative about President Trump.
Woods had just finished the final round of the Northern Trust tournament in Paramus, N.J., on Sunday when reporters moved in to ask Woods about his relationship with Trump. Woods has been known to golf with the president on occasion.
“Well, I've known Donald for a number of years,'' Woods said. "We've played golf together. We've had dinner together. I've known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
When Woods referred to Trump by his first name, you knew he would answer whatever question came his way in the same way he dominated golf 15 years ago: with precision.
Woods responded to pressure from reporters about his relationship with Trump with grace and intelligence:
“Well, he's the president of the United States,” Woods responded. “You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”
Perhaps the best response Woods gave on Sunday was when a reporter asked him if he had anything to say about “the state and discourse of race relations,” according to ESPN.
“No,” Woods said. “I just finished 72 holes and am really hungry.”
Perfect. The media attempted to bait a Tiger and got bit.
Trump himself tweeted out praise for Woods’ comments, saying “he is very smart” for not falling for the media’s schtick.
Here’s Trump’s tweet:
Woods has also golfed with the three presidents preceding Trump as well. It seems for Tiger Woods that golf trumps politics.
For Woods' full post-tournament press conference, watch below (Trump comments begin around 3:10):