A group of 9/11 survivors and their families are protesting a Saudi-sponsored golf tournament at Donald Trump’s private club in New Jersey, and the former president said he turned his back on them.
Designed to compete with the PGA and created by the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the LIV Tournament kicks off on Friday at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.
Justice, a group of 9/11 survivors and their families, is planning a rally outside the club against the tournament. They say it is impolite to host a tournament in the vicinity of Ground Zero, given that Saudi Arabia claims to be associated with terrorism.
“It’s shocking that they turned their back on us,” said Tim Florich, a 9/11 survivor who was seriously injured in Thursday’s attack.
“The mass murder of spouses, parents, children and siblings on 9/11 left us with sadness and pain for the rest of our lives. This pain comes from Saudi Arabia’s role in the attack and from each of us. hold ourselves accountable for what has been stolen,” the group told Trump on July 17 in a public letter.
Trump, it is more than us that the former President of the United States abandons our loved ones for personal financial gain.
After the Biden administration released the FBI report in March, the relationship between some Saudi government officials and the 9/11 hijackers was revealed.
Additionally, 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.
“No company or organization should now do business with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without knowing these facts and what they did 20 years ago,” said Florich.
9/11 Justice described the tournament “in the shadow of Ground Zero”. A total of 674 New Jerseyans were killed in the attack.
“One or both of these planes may have flown over the Bedminster golf course on their way to the tower,” Frohlich said.
Many protesters said Trump appears to have changed his position on the issue since running for public office. They specifically point to comments made by Trump during the 2016 election campaign.
In an interview with Fox & Friends, Trump said: Who blew up the World Trade Center? He was a Saudi, not an Iraqi. Look at Saudi Arabia. Open the document. Frankly, if you open the file, you’ll see that it was Saudi Arabia. These people would not have been in the country if my policy had been intact. “
Juliet Scauso, daughter of 9/11 victim Dennis Scauso, told CNN: “But now you’re getting money from them.”
Some members of the 9/11 judge even got a chance to meet Trump on the anniversary of the 2019 attack.
“On September 11, 2019, President Trump was kind enough to welcome his family to the White House,” said Florich. I went up to him and waved his hand, and he said, “Yes, I’ll help you.”
When news broke that the tournament would be held in Bedminster, the group asked to meet with the former president to share their concerns directly.
This time they were met with almost silence.
9/11 Truth chairman Brett Eagleson spoke with one of the former White House chiefs of staff, but the phone call “carried little to no meaning,” Politico reported.
The LIV Tournament is the brainchild of a public investment fund, a Saudi sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, public investment funds have been criticized for being used to whitewash Saudi Arabia’s image in other parts of the world through “sports laundering”.
In 2021, the Public Investment Fund led a consortium to acquire Newcastle United Football Club.
Earlier this month, the fund also bought a 17% stake in Aston Martin. This includes the acquisition of the F1 team.
The course brought together renowned golf professionals such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.
Given the relationship between the tournament and the Public Investment Fund, Trump justified his decision by emphasizing trust in his business partners.
“I’ve known these people in Saudi Arabia for a long time, they’ve been my friends for a long time, they’ve invested in a lot of American companies,” he said in an ESPN interview.
When asked specifically about the concerns of 9/11 survivors, Trump did not answer the question, instead saying, “Unfortunately, no one has gotten to the bottom of 9/11 and they should.”
“Well no one was there about the maniac who brought this horror to our city, our country, the world,” he continued. “But I can tell there are a lot of really great people here today. We’re going to have a lot of fun celebrating.”
Still, some have pointed to the 2018 murder of Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi. The killer was associated with Bin Salman, the chairman of the Public Investment Fund.
The LIV Golf Tournament will not be broadcast, but will be streamed live from the tournament website and its YouTube and Facebook channels.
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Source: Metro
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