A key U.S. ally plans to woo Donald Trump with golf
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to enter the White House, the president of South Korea and other world leaders are planning to use golf to woo him.
SEOUL, South Korea — As foreign governments prepare to deal with a second Trump administration, at least one key U.S. ally is hoping to make headway on the fairway.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol “got out his golf clubs for the first time in eight years and resumed his golf practice” as he gets ready to meet President-elect Donald Trump in person, his office told NBC News on Monday.
Trump famously loves the sport and has golf properties in Florida, New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere. For lawmakers, businesspeople and occasionally world leaders, getting out on the links has been an important way to get close to him.
Yoon, whose approval rating hit a record low 17% last week, also convened an emergency economic and security meeting over the weekend in response to Trump’s election victory, his office said in a text briefing Sunday. South Korean officials are especially concerned about Trump’s vow to impose tariffs of 20% on all U.S. imports, as well as other demands he could place on the country and the overtures he could make toward its rival, North Korea.
Yoon told reporters last week that he had spent about 10 minutes on the phone with Trump after his election victory and that the two leaders “agreed that we should meet in person soon.”
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