US President Donald Trump has failed to impress as he tried to show off his putting skills at the White House on Tuesday, taking a group of schoolchildren out to the lawn to demonstrate his sporting prowess. However, instead of wowing the kids, Trump missed every single putt before eventually giving up. The embarrassing blunder was caught on camera and shared on social media by a member of the gathered press, who wrote: 'At the [White House]... today, Trump takes the kids outside to demonstrate his athletic ability with a little putting display. He misses every putt before giving up.'
Presidential Fitness Test Revived
Aside from his lacklustre putting display, schoolchildren and athletes gathered at the White House for a special proclamation to revive the long-forgotten Presidential Fitness Test, which was phased out more than a decade ago by the Obama administration. Trump handed out the first copies of the revitalised program, which reintroduces a performance-based benchmark in physical education, to those present to mark the beginning of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.
In attendance were South African golfing great Gary Player and two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau. Fortunately for the President, they did not witness his putting debacle, as the famous golfers were nowhere to be seen in the footage shared online.
Oval Office Remarks
In the Oval Office, Trump began his announcement with a preprepared statement but quickly strayed off-course. 'It is indeed a beautiful day to celebrate America’s athletic traditions and champions in physical fitness and all of those things,' he said, before adding off-script: 'I work so hard on a personal basis. I work out so much—like about one minute a day max if I’m lucky.' Awkward chuckles followed.
This is not the first time Trump has spoken of his dislike for exercise. In a January interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said: 'I just don’t like it. It’s boring. To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours like some people do, that’s not for me.'
During Tuesday's pageantry, one girl informed Trump that she aspired to play volleyball, to which he responded 'soccer might be better' in reference to her height. He then turned to a boy who revealed he played football but was keen to take up powerlifting the following year. 'You'll never compete against women in powerlifting,' Trump remarked, before enquiring: 'Do you think you can take me in a fight?'
Iran Remarks
The 47th US President then told the roomful of children that Iran had been 'two weeks away' from killing them during a rant about the war. He said: 'We have to make a journey down to Iran to take their nuclear weapon. They would've had a nuclear weapon within two weeks. We sent that beautiful B-2 bomber in, and we blew up their nuclear potential. It was obliterated - for those who are not aware. To a point where it will take them weeks to dig down. And we wouldn't let them dig down. We have our eyes on it all the time. But it was a very important thing. So we would've had an Iran with a nuclear weapon. And maybe we wouldn't all be here right now. I can tell you, the Middle East would've been gone. Israel would've been gone. They would've trained their sights on Europe first, then us. Because they're sick people. These are sick people, and we're not going to let lunatics have nuclear weapons. It's not going to happen.'
The incident has gone viral across social media, alongside a separate moment in which he spoke about shooting protesters between the eyes - pointing to his forehead and saying: 'Right there.'
