President Donald Trump stepped before packed stands at Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Friday to a mix of cheers and boos, briefly taking center stage at one of the biggest international golf competitions in the world.
The appearance by the president — an ardent golfer who owns several courses — occasioned dueling demonstrations on Farmingdale streets, a massive security mobilization from local and national authorities, criticism from Democrats in Congress and a low flyover by military jets.
Trump landed at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale just before 11:15 a.m., traveling with his granddaughter Kai Trump, herself an avid golfer.
Stopping to talk briefly to pool reporters at the airport, Trump was asked if he was looking forward to attending the Ryder Cup and whether he would give a pep talk to Team USA. He quipped that he was there to be “Knute Rockne,” invoking the legendary Notre Dame football coach whose speech famously inspired a comeback win.
“I heard the team is not doing so well. So when I heard that, I said, let’s get on the plane. We have to fly and help them. We have three matches and tied in one. So that’s, so we’ll get it, we’ll get it done one way or the, we’ll get it done,” Trump said.
On Friday morning, the USA team was struggling, with Europe ahead three holes to one just before noon. The Americans have won the last two times at home, although Europe has dominated by winning 10 of the last 14 times.
The White House press pool arrived at the media viewing area at 18th green Friday around 11:45 a.m. The stands were jam-packed and the mood was raucous, with thunderous “USA chants” greeting every American success on the course. Thousands more fans were out on the course behind the ropes.
Trump arrived at 18th green shortly after noon greeted by a mix of cheers and boos. He could be seen on a giant video screen saluting during the national anthem, wearing a blue jacket and no tie with golf shoes. He stood on a viewing area protected by glass.
There was a subdued reaction from crowd — not nearly as much noise as when final foursome of morning play approached the hole. His visit was punctuated by a flyover of four military jets in right diamond formation.
USA Team Captain Keegan Bradley appeared to acknowledge the president he walked to the tee, giving a fighter’s one-two punch and bowing as he passed the glass viewing area.
Trump left the 18th green around 12:30 p.m., giving the crowd a double fist pump and drawing USA chants. As before, the reaction to the president was more muted than reaction to the golf.
Dueling pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators at the north side of the Conklin Street/Merritts Road intersection in Farmingdale were also slowing traffic that was already creeping Friday morning.
The morning traffic had turned what was earlier this week a 10-minute shuttle ride from the Long Island Rail Road station in Farmingdale to the tournament into a voyage of more than an hour.
“Get ready for the longest shortest trip of your life,” the shuttle bus driver told riders, truthfully.
Security was heavy at Bethpage Black, with Nassau County police, Secret Service and New York State Police officers and troopers stationed around the course and at an airport-style checkpoint fans needed to clear before they could get close to the golf. Specialized units including K-9 and snipers with scopes and rifle cases could also be seen.
Just past the security checkpoint at around 10:30 a.m., Massapequa Park resident Mike Mazol, retired from the airline catering industry, and Bob Van Nostrand, of West Islip, retired from the biotech industry, enjoyed morning cigars.
Mazol said it took him and his friends more than an hour to reach Bethpage on a shuttle bus that left from Farmingdale State College. If some of the delay was caused by Trump’s scheduled arrival, he said he didn’t mind: “I’d love to see him. I voted for him. … I think he likes sports.”
Van Nostrand said, “It shouldn’t take an hour to go 2 miles” and that authorities should have had more people directing traffic on area roads. “We still haven’t seen anybody hit a ball,” he said. “I feel for the people who paid a lot of money to come here from overseas.”
Those overseas visitors included Ruth and Lawrence Hughes, from the United Kingdom. Lawrence, a retired engineer, said they’d left their Manhattan hotel at 6:45 a.m. to get a 7:16 a.m. LIRR train to get to the course near tee time but had gotten snagged in traffic. He chalked that delay up to the presidential visit.
“Perhaps if he’d decided to come a little earlier, it would have made it a little easier,” he said. But the couple said they’d adopted a Zen-like approach to delays: “We get in when we get in. Otherwise, you go crackers,” Lawrence said.
Trump has attended sports events including the Super Bowl, a UFC fight and an Army-Navy football game, and earlier this month he took in a Yankees game and the U.S. Open men’s final in tennis.
Shortly after noon, a growing protest of about 90 people stood on the northwestern corner of Merritts Road and Conklin Steet in front of the Marquis Plaza shopping center. They waved American flags and held handmade signs calling for resistance to Trump. Trucks and cars honked in a cacophony as they passed. Demonstrators chanted pro-immigration slogans and “No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA.”
Across the street a dozen Trump supporters waved also waved American flags as well as Trump flags.
Protesters chanted, rang cowbells and spoke with bullhorns. Nassau County police in black shirts walked around and watched the peaceful but loud protest and counter protest.
“I felt like I needed to lend my voice to the overall voice of dissent,” Allan Hunter, 66, a software developer from New Hyde Park said as he held a sign that said “We Don’t Do Kings in America.”
Joana Enea, 66, a retired student housing worker from South Hempstead, said she was protesting because “I am afraid for this country.”
Enea said she was disturbed by seeing “illegal immigrants getting rounded up without due process and getting deported without due process.”
“That’s not democracy, that’s not this country,” Enea said. She said it was important to stand against “fascism.”
Across the street, Trump supporters blasted music from speakers atop a white jeep.
“I’m here to support Donald Trump,” said Charlie Hart, 33, a mobile dog groomer from Farmingdale. “We’re here to stand for freedom.”
Pointing to the protesters across the street he said “They are actually the fascists who want to imprison their political opponents.”
Stephanie Liu, 60, a community health care representative originally from China, came from Astoria to support Trump.
“I’m a MAGA supporter,” Liu said. She said she likes Trump because “he fights for our country, for our freedom.”
An immigrant herself, Liu said Trump “isn’t against immigration, he’s against illegal immigration.”
Meanwhile, in Washington, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) criticized Trump for attending the Ryder Cup, instead of being in Washington negotiating with Democrats ahead of a possible government shutdown.
“Donald Trump, as we speak, is at a golf tournament!” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, (D-Brooklyn), exclaimed to reporters at the Capitol.
“Get back to Washington D.C.! Why are you at a golf event right now — and the government is four days aways from closing?” Jeffries said.
Before Trump announced his plans, Ryder Cup organizers and local authorities already were planning for the usual logistical challenges of hosting an event expected to draw more than 250,000 attendees from more than 100 countries. Security operations include SWAT teams, trained dogs, tethered drones and undercover officers in the crowd.
Trump’s presence raised concerns of a repeat of his visit to the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows on Sept. 7, when the men’s final was delayed by a half-hour and many fans missed the start of the match due to extra security measures.
The visit will be Trump’s first trip to Long Island since he began his second term in January.
Last November, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate in more than 30 years to win Nassau County. He won Suffolk County in each of the last three presidential contests in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Newsday’s Carl MacGowan and Billy House contributed to this story.