President Donald Trump attended the final round of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, and dedicated the winning trophy to hurricane victims, mentioning specifically that the situation in Puerto Rico is “horrible” but “under control.”
“On behalf of all of the people of Texas and all of the people of — if you look today and you see what’s happening how horrible it is, but we have it under control — Puerto Rico and the people of Florida who have really suffered over this last short period of time with the hurricanes,” Trump said.
“I want to just remember them,” he continued. “And we’re going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people that went through so much, that we love, a part of our great state and a part of our great nation.”
Trump, who has been spending the weekend at his Trump National Golf Club in nearby Bedminster, took a quick trip over to the tournament for the awarding of the trophy to the US team at 6 p.m. ET.
This was not the first presidential appearance at the tournament this weekend. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton made a joint appearance at the event Thursday. Their appearance together follows a joint effort by the five living former presidents to support hurricane relief efforts.
The Presidents Cup, which came to a close Sunday, featured American golfers playing against an international team in a series of 30 matches. Obama, Bush and Clinton participated in the opening ceremony at the first tee to mark the beginning of the matches.
Some of the world’s most prominent golfers, including Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, participated in this year’s event, with Woods acting as an assistant captain for the US.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama appeared in a video September 8 to ask Americans to respond to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey. Their effort was expanded later to include relief for areas affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Meanwhile, Trump spent his weekend in Bedminster dealing with the resignation of former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price for his use of private planes as well as the relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
Trump was up early all weekend, sending 18 tweets out on Puerto Rico on Saturday alone, including an attack on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has criticized the Trump administration’s response efforts on the island.