Donald Trump’s love for all things gold-plated is well-known, from his gilded Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan to the gold drapes he had installed in the Oval Office. And when he played golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend, Trump made use of a golden driver Abe gave him in November — worth more than $3,000.
Abe’s strategy to win Trump’s affection seems to be paying off. He gifted the new president-elect the golden club in a meeting shortly after the election, where Trump’s daughter Ivanka was also present. Abe reportedly suggested the two include a golf outing as part of their first official meeting. They traveled to Trump’s swanky Mar-A-Lago Club for the round, an echo of a similar visit between President Eisenhower and Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Photos of Trump showed him with the golden gift in hand.
The White House barred reporters from taking photos of the golf game, perhaps because of Trump’s longstanding criticism of Barack Obama’s time spent on the links. But Politico managed to capture a few snapshots of the president and his guest.
The WH barred reporters from covering Trump’s golf outing yesterday, but @playbookplus managed to get some photos. https://t.co/k9FOAtnQ8Y pic.twitter.com/AUZOB04wG3
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) February 12, 2017
Played golf today with Prime Minister Abe of Japan and @TheBig_Easy, Ernie Els, and had a great time. Japan is very well represented!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
Here’s the $3,755 gold, anti-slice golf driver Shinzo Abe gave Trump a few months ago pic.twitter.com/tWDWDzAbyq
— Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) February 10, 2017
