![Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the presidential debate](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/WvjPrEv_2ooAi4u-iBLHQGRnSII=/2142x0:4896x2754/80x80/media/img/mt/2024/06/AP24180099599639/original.jpg)
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Sign up decisionThis is a newsletter covering the 2024 elections.
Last night, a nation turned its attention to its television screens and witnessed a ritual that usually takes place only behind closed doors. Passionate voters finally got a glimpse of the smoke-filled rooms that line the halls of power, where the world's problems are solved and great men speak freely. At last, the voters saw something. really: Two old, strong men are yelling and getting angry about a game of golf.
The moment came at the very end of an interminable presidential debate that, as my colleague David Graham put it, was “at times almost physically uncomfortable.” Trump rambling and spouting falsehoods, Biden occasionally sitting idly by, hurling his talking points at viewers with a shotgun approach. Each candidate seemed to quietly hate the other, but even when discussing the economy, national security, and war, their exchanges lacked real energy. Until Trump’s tee-off average distance was mentioned, America had not yet seen two men fighting to prove something.
I had to check the transcript to remember the sequence of events, because I was briefly astralized when I heard the two presidential candidates compare their handicaps. But here’s what I heard it go like: Trump, answering questions about his age and fitness for office, mentioned his golf skills, claiming he’d won two country club golf championships. “You have to be pretty smart to do that, and you have to hit the ball far,” Trump said. He then claimed Biden had challenged him to a golf match, but couldn’t hit the ball from 50 yards. The president responded by claiming Trump routinely lied about his height and weight and had a six-point handicap (which would be good for any age, let alone 75, as Biden last recorded his golf score). He then hinted at a possible driving competition with his opponent. Biden quipped, “I’d be happy to play golf if I could carry my own bag.”
The two then argued about Biden's handicap in the following conversation, which I included in full and, regrettably, it is not true.
erase: The biggest lie is that guy has a 6 handicap.
Biden: I had a handicap of 8.
erase: I've seen your swing. I know your swing. Let's not act like children.
CNN host Dana Bash: Mr. Trump, let's get back to the specifics of what concerns voters about you. Will you commit tonight to accepting the results of this election once all legal challenges have been exhausted?
It's easy (and in many ways right) to dismiss this incredibly trivial and low-risk argument as a distraction from what really matters. This is, after all, an election that conveys existential sentiment. Battle of Ideasmore A fight for the soul of a nation. But that moment also almost perfectly encapsulates the fever dream that is 2024 American electoral politics.
The question that sparked this country club debate wasn't about the candidates' hobbies or how they would spend their ideal Sunday afternoons. It was about the presidential stamina of two men in their 80s who were finishing their second terms. What we saw was two unpopular old men arguing over the basic physical ability to do the most important job in the land, and suggesting that the score should be settled by a longest-distance driving contest. This isn't just stupid. sublimely You idiot, you idiot who should be screaming like a tornado siren across the plains. Get up and seek shelter in the basement!
It's also perfect that these men have decided on a golf handicap. In a world bereft of truth, there is no better fodder for the broken format of presidential debates than metrics like handicap. Handicaps are based on golfers self-reporting unofficial scores using no more than an honor system. Golf handicaps can be easily searched using the official USGA app. I searched for both Trump (2.5, last update 2021) and Biden (6.7, last update 2018). However, it must be understood that these numbers are old for our purposes and are only as reliable as the men who recorded them.
That's because golfers can cheat or manipulate to lower their scores (called a vanity handicap) or inflate their scores. This process is called punching bag or, in non-golf terms, hustling. Having a higher handicap means you will have an advantage in the game because better players will have to spot your strokes. It is not uncommon for a weekend hacker to complain about losing his money to players he believes are being dishonest about their handicaps. If you love golf like I do or spend enough time with golfers, you'll find that given handicaps are a perfect topic for discussion.
It’s worth noting that Trump’s golf game has long been a subject of controversy. Author Rick Reilly has written an entire book documenting Trump’s many on-course misdeeds, and his club championship claims are dubious at best and downright fictitious at worst. (Trump claimed to have won the 2023 Senior Club Championship despite not playing in the first round of the tournament.)
Presidential debates are always a minefield of fact-checking, but usually about more important issues. Candidates deflect questions they don’t like, muddle through, exaggerate the truth, outright lie, or cite obscure figures that are not easily disproved. Media organizations have dedicated teams to rebutting in real time, but the sad truth is that by the time the facts arrive, the lies have already entered the discourse. Most of the time, the pundits end up talking about inflammatory claims instead of the appropriate questions being evaded. This case, for all its ridiculousness, is no different.
Trump and Biden are unlikely to ever meet on the course to see who can hit the longest drive, but if they do, it would be fitting in some ways. It seems right that an election that has felt like a slow, steady march toward dysfunction and disappointment between two men who can’t back down, while not the American people deserve, should end in a measuring contest.