President Donald Trump has reportedly spent more than 26 percent of the days of his second term playing golf, and according to prominent sportswriter Rick Reilly, his conduct on the course offers a revealing window into his character beyond sports. The frequency of presidential golf outings has long drawn public scrutiny across administrations, but Trump's case is unusual in that he owns many of the courses where he plays, creating a dynamic Reilly argues makes impartial play nearly impossible.

Reilly, author of "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump," appeared on MSNBC's The Beat with Ari Melber on Thursday to discuss what he described as the president's habitual cheating during games.

"He's got a pancake swing and the yips — that's when you just can't commit to the shot, and you suddenly flinch," Reilly told Melber. "He chips like Edward Scissorhands. He's just awful, especially around the green. He hits it pretty well off the tee, but when he plays his own courses, he's got a caddy who'll toss it out of the rough or out of the bunker for him. One time I saw him hit it into the lake, and suddenly he's on the fairway. I said, 'What the hell, Donald?' And he said, 'It must have hit the tee marker.'"

Reilly explained that no one challenges Trump on his own courses because guests fear being expelled. "There's no beating him at his own course, because nobody wants to get thrown out of the club. It's kind of like when you race your three-year-old in a foot race and say, 'You won' — because nobody wants to be the one who ruins it."

Melber pressed further, referencing video footage from the previous year that appeared to show a caddy dropping a ball closer to the green. He asked Reilly what he had assessed years earlier about the man who would become president.

Reilly framed his answer around the sport rather than partisan politics. "Look, I don't know about politics, but I do know golf," Reilly said. "Golf is like bicycle shorts — it reveals a lot about a man. If he's going to cheat you at golf, is he going to cheat his friends and family? He's going to cheat the country. He's going to cheat in elections. He's going to cheat on his wives and his taxes. In fact, we've asked him, 'You can't cheat me like this,' and he said, 'Well, I cheat on my wives, I cheat on my taxes — why wouldn't I cheat on my own golf course?' That's how it works."

Reilly has previously been outspoken about Trump's golf-related conduct. Earlier in the week, he posted on X, using golf as one example among several to argue that Trump has damaged everything he touches.

"Reflecting pool was fine," Reilly wrote on X. "Now it's fenced off. Kennedy Center was fine. Now it's closed. WH was fine. Now it looks like a 99-cent Thai joint. Boats sailed thru Hormuz. Now Iran owns it. Golf was cool. Now there's a greasy orange splotch on it."

Other concerns have surfaced around Trump's golf properties, which remain part of the Trump Organization's broader portfolio and have drawn ongoing regulatory and operational scrutiny even as he serves as president. In July, health inspection findings at one of his clubs came to light. NOTUS reporter Dave Levinthal reported on Monday that a Loudoun County health official visiting the Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C.'s restaurant had identified multiple violations.

"When a Loudoun County health official visited the Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C.'s restaurant last month, the inspector spotted some invaders," Levinthal reported. The inspection noted a "large quantity of small flies" in a storage room and found "several food items stored at a temperature above the required 41 degrees Fahrenheit minimum," including blue cheese at 54 degrees, sausage links at 51 degrees, sausage patties at 49 degrees, and pasta at 49 degrees.

The report also documented improperly stored "raw steak, fish and burgers above ready-to-eat foods such as tortillas and sauces," and found that the sink's chemical sanitizer solution exceeded regulatory limits for maximum strength.

In February, NOTUS also reported that Trump had been renovating Washington, D.C.'s public golf courses in ways that were making them unaffordable to all but the most affluent golfers. The Trump administration moved to terminate the National Links Trust's lease, citing violations that the trust disputes. The outcome of the lease dispute carries implications for public access to three major courses — Rock Creek, East Potomac, and Langston — that have served a broad cross-section of D.C. residents.

"The National Links Trust is devastated by the Trump administration's decision to terminate our 50-year lease with the National Park Service," the organization said in a statement. "Since taking over stewardship of Rock Creek, East Potomac, and Langston courses five years ago, NLT has consistently complied with all lease obligations as we work to ensure the brightest possible future for public golf in DC."