--- title: Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, Says Samuel L. Jackson description: This is hardly the first time Trump has been accused of cheating on the golf course. canonical: https://time.com/4166447/donald-trump-golf-cheating/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-04T18:43:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:46.313Z og:title: Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, Says Samuel L. Jackson og:description: Trump has been accused of fraudulence on the fairways before og:url: https://time.com/4166447/donald-trump-golf-cheating/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e93dccc36b0db4f/69887768f887dc6063e93f5f/donald-trump3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4608 og:image:height: 2592 og:image:alt: Donald Trump during a pro-am round of the AT&T National golf tournament in Bethesda, Md. on June 27, 2012. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Cheats at Golf, Says Samuel L. Jackson twitter:description: Trump has been accused of fraudulence on the fairways before twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e93dccc36b0db4f/69887768f887dc6063e93f5f/donald-trump3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Samuel L. Jackson Says Donald Trump Cheats at Golf > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=447ea0fc-8f4e-4439-850f-67c4f8e15141&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump's First TV Campaign Ad [Watch (HLS stream): Trump's First TV Campaign Ad](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mzsOVgPR.m3u8) (0:31)  _Published 2016-01-04. Trump's First TV Campaign Ad_ by [Extra Spin Staff / Golf.com](https://time.com/author/golf-com/) ## Extra Spin Staff / Golf.com Jan 4, 2016 6:43 PM UTC  Donald Trump during a pro-am round of the AT&T National golf tournament in Bethesda, Md. on June 27, 2012. Donald Trump during a pro-am round of the AT&T National golf tournament in Bethesda, Md. on June 27, 2012. Patrick Semansky—AP by [Extra Spin Staff / Golf.com](https://time.com/author/golf-com/) ## Extra Spin Staff / Golf.com Jan 4, 2016 6:43 PM UTC Donald Trump’s campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has been marked by controversy at every turn, and his golf game is no different. According to Samuel L. Jackson, Trump isn’t the most trustworthy man on the fairways. The prolific actor and avid golfer tees it up with Trump from time to time, and when [asked by United Airlines’ _Rhapsody_ magazine](http://pagesix.com/2016/01/03/samuel-l-jackson-says-hes-a-better-golfer-than-trump-i-dont-cheat/?%5Fga=1.43668646.2099744003.1406411860) who was the better golfer, Jackson responded, “Oh, I am for sure. I don’t cheat.” This is hardly the first Trump has been accused of cheating on the golf course. In September, [_The Washington Post_ compiled a list of such allegations](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/does-donald-trump-cheat-at-golf-a-washington-post-investigation/2015/09/02/f8a940b2-50c4-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8%5Fstory.html) from several of his past playing partners. [Trump denied those claims](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-golf-cheating-allegations-2015-9), and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sort of backed him up when writer Chuck Klosterman asked him whether Trump cheats for [a November interview with _GQ_](http://www.gq.com/story/tom-brady-chuck-klosterman-gq-man-of-the-year-2015). “Nah,” Brady said. “He just — he doesn’t lose. He just doesn’t lose.” Jackson didn’t stop there. He also told _Rhapsody_ that Trump made him a dues-paying member of one of his clubs without his knowledge. “Last week or so, I actually got a bill from Trump National Golf Club,” Jackson said. “And I haven’t been there in four or five years, so I had my assistant call. They said it was for membership dues. And I said, ‘I’m not a member,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, you are — you have a member number.’ Apparently he’d made me a member of one of his golf clubs, and I didn’t even know it! … I’m not payin’ that!” _This_ [_article_](http://www.golf.com/extra-spin/donald-trump-cheating-golf-yes-says-samuel-l-jackson) _originally appeared on_ [_Golf.com_](http://www.golf.com) ## Transcript [00:00] I'm Donald Trump, and I approve this message. The [00:02] politicians can pretend it's something else, but Donald [00:05] Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism. That's why he's [00:09] calling for a temporary shutdown of Muslims Entering the [00:12] United States until we can figure out what's going on. He'll [00:15] quickly cut the head off Isis and take their oil. [00:19] He'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our [00:22] southern border that Mexico will pay for. 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