On Friday, President Donald Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump, publicly challenged her uncle's recent assertion that he had won his 43rd golf championship, arguing that despite decades spent on the course, he remains a poor golfer.

The president's claim stemmed from a victory he said he achieved last weekend at his own golf club in New Jersey. In a statement following the win, the 80-year-old declared: "It's called TALENT, and I have it, and they don't! I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I'm given very little time to practice, because I'm focused on many other things."

Mary L. Trump took to social media to respond, sharing a compilation video of the president's golf mishaps. "Why wouldn't we believe it when he can hit golf shots like these?" she wrote sarcastically. "I know what a good golf game looks like and Donald does not have it."

A consistent critic of her uncle, she added: "If there's one thing I would potentially feel bad for Donald about — and of course, I wouldn't because he's a horrible human — it is the fact that he spends probably 80 percent of his waking life playing golf, and he's been doing that for over six decades," and he's still bad at it. Her post is available at https://x.com/MaryLTrump/status/2085772146731536663?s=20.

Commentators have long noted that Trump tends to post notably strong scores when playing at courses he owns, leading to recurring allegations of cheating. The Trump Organization operates more than a dozen golf properties worldwide, and the president's self-reported accomplishments on those courses have been a recurring flashpoint for scrutiny since well before his political career. Shortly after his latest championship claim, a video surfaced that appeared to show the president's caddie dropping a ball on the green to replace one that had been hit into the rough.

In response, one of Trump's biographers stated: "Trump pays his caddies to give him fake golf scores he can then use as political chits underscoring his supposed virility. If Trump were forced to play a round of golf at a new course without a caddy he'd bribed with a monitor watching him closely… he'd shoot between 95 and 105. Any claim he's a good golfer at this age is a farce."

Sportswriter Rick Reilly, who authored the 2019 book "Commander In Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump" examining the president's golf habits, has been a prominent skeptic. In a 2024 interview with Deadline, Reilly recounted playing golf with the president: "I know this because when I play with him, he goes, 'You know what I do to win these championships, don't ya?' and I go, 'Please tell me. Give it to me.' And he goes, 'Anytime I buy a new course, I play the first round all by myself and then I declare myself the club champion. So that's what kind of guy this is."

Reacting to the 43rd championship claim, Reilly wrote on social media: "Among the many hilarious things about club championship #43 is that he lies so much about them he loses his place. We went from 26 to 36 overnight, then skipped 39, 40 and 41. Actual number: 0." That post is available at https://x.com/ReillyRick/status/2084297814692311539?s=20.

Later that day, Reilly posted again: "Notice how Trump f—— up everything? Golf was cool. Now there's a greasy orange splotch on it." That post is available at https://x.com/ReillyRick/status/2084673194355761394?s=20.

For Mary Trump, the golf claims have become part of a broader case she has made against her uncle's credibility. The psychologist and author of the bestselling family memoir "Too Much and Never Enough" has leveraged her insider perspective to challenge the president on issues ranging from his personal character to his fitness for office, with his golf assertions serving as a recurring touchstone in her public commentary.

Related coverage includes Alternet's earlier report on Trump's golf claims and a previous piece on the cheating allegations.