President Donald Trump brought out golfer Tiger Woods to surprise the crowd at a White House Black History month celebration.
The East Room was packed with excited spectators who cheered loudly, shouting out ‘Trump’ and ‘Tiger’ repeatedly, causing Trump to pause until the noise subsided before commencing his speech.
Woods stood nearby, donning the Presidential Medal of Freedom that Trump had presented to him during his initial term, while dressed in a suit and sneakers.
‘Is there anybody like our Tiger,’ Trump gushed, describing the golfer as ‘incredible.’
Woods was just as effusive.
‘It’s an honor to be here. It’s honor to be here with you, Mr. President,’ he told Trump.
The occasion celebrating Black History Month was organized by Trump, even though he had eliminated the government’s diversity prerequisites for federal job hires.
‘Let me ask you, is there anybody like our Tiger?’ Trump asked the crowd to cheers
The crowd was pumped up, however. Many wore ‘Make America Great Again’ caps. They all screamed Trump’s name.
The president was just as happy, crediting the black vote with helping him when the 2024 election.
‘You really are great, great people,’ he said.
The crowd was just as thrilled, cheering him on when he asked if he should run for a third term.
‘I’m proud to say that we receive, listen to this, more votes from black Americans than any Republican president ever,’ Trump said, adding: ‘Should I run again?’
‘Four more years,’ the crowd roared in response.
Trump did make inroads with black voters in the November election.
About 8 in 10 black voters supported his rival, Democrat Kamala Harris. But, that was down from about 9 in 10 in the previous presidential election who went for Joe Biden.
Trump about doubled his share of young black men – about 3 in 10 black men under the age of 45 went for Trump, roughly double the number he got in 2020.
He also won more black voters than any other Republican presidential candidate in the last 50 years.
Trump was in a jovial mood, teasing Woods and slamming Joe Biden as he talked about his plans for the upcoming 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
He plans to build a National Garden of Heroes as a centerpiece of the festivities.
Trump, a real estate tycoon, has envisioned a national park filled with statues of great Americans since his first term in office.
‘It’s going to be a statue Park. It’s going to be unbelievable,’ he said. ‘We’re picking the final sites now. It’s between various states that want to very badly. Will honor hundreds of our greatest Americans ever.’
It’s estimated to cost $120 million
Trump told the crowd at the White House his park would feature many famous black Americans, including Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Loretta Scott King, Frederick Douglass, Booker T Washington, Jackie Robinson, what a great athlete. That was Martin Luther King, Jr, Muhammad Ali, and Kobe Bryant.
He turned to Woods and noted: ‘We’re gonna save Tiger Woods for another time.’
Woods chuckled as the crowd cheered.
Tiger Woods laughs as Donald Trump teases him
Trump also slammed his predecessor in office: ‘The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year, 1619, but under my administration, we honor the indispensable role black Americans have always played.’
Meanwhile, a group of civil rights organizations is suing President Trump over a series of executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs and gender discrimination protections.
Trump said he removed the programs as part of his push to restore merit-based opportunities.
