WASHINGTON − The Biden administration is staying out of the PGA Tour’s stunning merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf as former President Donald Trump hailed a “big, beautiful and glamorous deal” and families of 9/11 victims said they were “shocked and deeply offended” by the agreement.
President Joe Biden made a joke when in response to shouted questions about the merger before a meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday.
“I’m planning on being in the PGA,” Biden said with a smile, making a putting gesture with his hands, though not weighing in on the merger.
Other members of the Biden administration were silent on the controversial merger as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid strained relations between the U.S. and Saudis.
“I think we’ll let the Saudi government speak to that,” the White House’s John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said when asked about the merger. “I have no comment on that today.”
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf, along with the DP World Tour, announced the creation of a “new, collectively owned, for-profit entity” in a surprise joint statement Tuesday.
PGA had been previously critical of LIV Golf − which syphoned away some of golf’s biggest stars such as Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka − over LIV’s financial backing from the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth investment fund of the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
Trump, a LIV Golf supporter whose golf courses have hosted LIV events, celebrated the news on his social media website Truth Social. “GREAT NEWS FOR LIV GOLF. A BIG, BEAUTIFUL, GLAMOROUS DEAL FOR THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF. GREAT NEWS TO ALL!!!”
Biden’s complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia
Biden has maintained a complicated relationship with the Saudis since entering the White House in 2021 promising to make the oil-rich nation a “pariah” because of its human rights abuses.
Biden visited Saudi Arabia last July, giving the crown prince a highly criticized fist-bump upon his arrival. Three months later, the prince spurned Biden when the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting nations decided last week to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Biden vowed “consequences.”
Nonetheless, the Biden administration backed immunity last fall for the crown prince from lawsuits for his role in the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The White House cited a policy set by international law to afford heads of state immunity.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed Tuesday to Biden’s record of confronting the human rights violations of nations when meeting with their leaders.
“That is never anything that we shy away from. But on this particular merger, we’re just not going to comment from here,” Jean-Pierre said.
Blinken’s visit to Saudi Arabia is in part to to discuss prospects for the Saudis joining the so-called “Abraham Accords” that were completed during the Trump administration between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
U.S and Saudi officials will also discuss economic and security cooperation, according to the State Department.
Families of 9/11 victims blast PGA-LIV merger: ‘We will never forget’
The 9/11 Families United, comprised of family members of victims killed in the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks, issued a blistering statement on the golf merger, saying that PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan “co-opted” the 9/11 community when he previously characterized LIV Golf as seeking to “sportswash” the Saudi government’s reputation.
“Now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills,” said Terry Strada, chair of 9/11 Families United, “taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones.”
“Make no mistake – we will never forget,” Strada said.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., responded to the merger with a tweet: “So weird. PGA officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the Saudis’ human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major American sport.”
Murphy continued: “I guess maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
