FORE!

Bernhard Langer Disputes Trump Voter-Fraud Anecdote

Says it was “misconstrued” in a game of telephone.

German professional golfer Bernhard Langer on Thursday released a statement disputing the genesis of an anecdote about voter fraud President Donald Trump claimed to have received from the athlete. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that in a private meeting with congressional leaders, Trump claimed to have heard from Langer that, while waiting to vote, he saw people in line “who did not look as if they should allowed to vote,” but did so nonetheless. Trump reportedly spouted off the names of several Latin American countries to theorize from where the alleged illegal voters originated. “Unfortunately, the report in the New York Times and other news outlets was a mischaracterization by the media,” Langer said in a statement to the Golf Channel. “The voting situation reported was not conveyed from me to President Trump, but rather was told to me by a friend. I then relayed the story in conversation with another friend, who shared it with a person with ties to the White House,” he continued, recalling what was essentially a game of telephone. “From there, this was misconstrued,” he added, noting that, despite Trump claiming it was Langer who witnessed the election day activities, “I am not a citizen of the United States, and cannot vote.”