--- title: Donald Trump Did Not See Shinzo Abe Fall on the Golf Course description: The Japanese prime minister took an impressive spill on the golf course and President Donald Trump didn't notice. canonical: https://time.com/5016998/trump-shinzo-golf-video/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-09T16:31:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:48:36.485Z og:title: Donald Trump Didn't See Shinzo Abe's Golf Course Gymnastics og:description: The Japanese prime minister took an impressive spill on the golf course og:url: https://time.com/5016998/trump-shinzo-golf-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08e19f6227bb8973/6988e539929fad852abee6a6/gettyimages-870366638.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: JAPAN-US-DIPLOMACY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Didn't See Shinzo Abe's Golf Course Gymnastics twitter:description: The Japanese prime minister took an impressive spill on the golf course twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08e19f6227bb8973/6988e539929fad852abee6a6/gettyimages-870366638.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Didn't Notice When Shinzo Abe Took a Tumble on the Golf Course by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 9, 2017 4:31 PM UTC  US President Donald Trump (C) waves as he sits next to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) after playing a round of golf at the Kasumigaseki Country Club Golf Course in Kawagoe, Saitama prefecture, outside Tokyo on November 5, 2017. US President Donald Trump (C) waves as he sits next to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) after playing a round of golf at the Kasumigaseki Country Club Golf Course in Kawagoe, Saitama prefecture, outside Tokyo on November 5, 2017.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 9, 2017 4:31 PM UTC President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/5016519/donald-trump-action-figure-philippines/?xid=homepage) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hit the golf course this week, during [Trump](http://time.com/5015054/jon-stewart-john-oliver-trump-stand-up-for-heroes/?xid=homepage)’s tour of Asia. While the two world leaders took a break from trade negotiations to play a few holes, Abe took a tumble—and Trump didn’t even notice. The Prime Minister had climbed into one of the course’s sand traps to try and chip his ball back onto the green. However, when he attempted to climb out of the bunker, he appears to slip, taking a spill that resulted in a not-quite-Olympics-worthy gymnastics routine. Luckily, it looks like he emerged from the sand trap unharmed. [Trump](http://time.com/5015125/stephen-colbert-and-seth-meyers-clovis/?xid=homepage), who appears to have had his back to the Prime Minster at the time, [completely missed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/08/on-the-golf-course-japans-abe-did-a-ninja-stunt-and-trump-didnt-even-notice/?utm%5Fterm=.deb6fdac3c38) the slapstick tableau of the leader tumbling feet over head into the sand. Unfortunately for him, the entire klutzy slip-and-fall was captured on camera by a circling Japanese news helicopter and broadcast to Japanese television—and the world. Trump’s [meeting with Chinese President Xi Jiping](http://time.com/5014822/donald-trump-xi-jinping-china-beijing/?xid=homepage) had fewer visual gags, but was perhaps more newsworthy. 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