President Donald Trump halted his speech in front of King Charles to deviate from world history to his favorite topic in the world.
Trump, 79, hosted King Charles, 77, and Queen Camilla, 78, at the White House on Tuesday for a dinner to honor the links between the U.S. and the U.K. ahead of America’s 250th celebrations.
At one moment, Trump appeared to stray from his prepared remarks, and referenced another invited guest, Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy. This month, McIlroy won his second consecutive Masters Tournament, scoring praise from the president at the time.
As Trump read his script that covered everything from planting an American flag on the moon and raising the Union Jack above Antarctica, he compared the U.S. and U.K. by referencing a shared “unstoppable daring, this unconquerable courage.” He then ad-libbed, “It really is. It’s unconquerable.”
The president then fully deviated, “And speaking of that, where’s Rory McIlroy? Can you stand up, Rory?”
As the diners cheered the golfer, Trump said of McIlroy’s victory, “That was unconquerable courage. That was very good, Rory.”
“I had to interrupt my speech ‘cos I watched that man win a tournament,” Trump said. “That was a tough one. Congratulations. Very proud of you. All right. Now, I’ll get back to my speech Rory, okay?”
Athlete McIlroy joined high-profile guests invited from the worlds of business, media and government at the VIP dinner.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, were among the guests, according to Politico, as were outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. An array of Fox News presenters, including Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters, were also present.
His White House appearance gave Trump a chance to fawn over his golfing hero, who is now not playing at the president’s club this week.
McIlroy has opted not to return to competition immediately and has skipped several upcoming PGA Tour events, including the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, which begins on April 31.
Trump previously gushed over McIlroy on his Truth Social account after his win this month, posting, “With each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!” He said he looked forward to “watching him compete” at Doral.
The president also posted an undated archival photo of himself with McIlroy and his father, Gerry, who Trump said was “also a very good Golfer.”
McIlroy’s appearance at the White House follows the golfer’s previous clarification of his long history with the divisive Trump.
Trump invited McIlroy to his Florida golf course in February 2017, and after playing 18 holes the professional golfer said of his playing partner: “He’s a decent player for a guy in his 70s.”
However, following a backlash on social media, McIlroy defended himself on X five days later.
“This wasn’t an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind,” the then-27-year-old posted. “It was, quite simply, a round of golf.”
After the backlash, he noted, “I’ve traveled all over the world and have been fortunate enough to befriend people from many different countries, beliefs and cultures. To be called a fascist and a bigot by some people just for spending time in someone’s company is ridiculous.”
