Tiger Woods on Donald Trump: “He’s The President of the United States. You Have to Respect the Office”

Tiger Woods’ relationship with Donald Trump runs deep, so deep that he respects Trump’s current presidency.

On Sunday, following the final round of the Northern Trust tournament Woods was asked by a reporter about his past and current connection to Trump, which includes playing golf with Celebrity-in-Chief after he was elected in 2016 and again last year on Thanksgiving. Not to mention, having a villa named after him at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami.

“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” he said during a post-round interview at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”

When asked about his thoughts relating to people — specifically people of color — who are “threatened by him and his policy,” and people who might find it “interesting” that Woods has a seemingly friendly relationship with him, he responded:

“Well, he’s the president of the United States. You have to respect the office,” he said. “No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”

Meanwhile, on Monday morning in a tweet, Trump praised Woods for not taking the bait from “the Fake News Media.”

“The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say,” Trump tweeted. “Tiger wouldn’t play the game – he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!”

In addition to Trump, Woods has also played golf with former presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Barack Obama.