Photo: Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump, who always loves to insert himself into major celebrity gossip, was already involved in the Tiger Woods DUI crash simply because the golf great is dating his former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump. But it turns out the president was even more mixed up in this story than we initially knew.
On Thursday, TMZ reported that Woods called up the president after the rollover crash near his home in Jupiter, Florida on March 27, 2025. As police assessed the scene, Woods stepped away and made a phone call. When he got off the phone, he said he was chatting with Trump. Per TMZ:
At one point, Tiger walked away from the cruiser and into the distance … forcing police to call him back to the scene. While Tiger is walking back, he appears to be on the phone and can be heard saying, “Thank you so much. All right. You got it. Bye.”
The officer then asked Tiger to remain close by … to which he replied: “Yeah, I was just talking with the President.”
TMZ published the body camera footage:
Other video released Thursday showed Woods taking a roadside sobriety test, then being arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI with property damage. Footage from the back of the patrol car shows “the handcuffed golfer hiccuping, yawning and repeatedly appearing to nod off during the 15-minute ride,” per ESPN. His breathalyzer test was negative for alcohol, but Woods refused to submit to a urinalysis test. Authorities found white pills in Woods’s pocket and said he was in possession of hydrocodone.
Woods pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence, and has said he’s “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.”
So, why was Trump the first call Woods made? Here are some theories.
1. They’re actually besties. Trump and Woods do have a friendship that predates the golfer’s relationship with Vanessa. But are they really “call from the scene of the crime” close? That seems a bit dubious, if only because it’s hard to imagine Trump compassionately talking anyone through a difficult situation.
2. Woods wanted the cops to think he and the president are besties. It seems likely that Woods actually called Trump. The president has previously alluded to talking with the golfer on the phone, and he publicly remarked on the crash before the news broke. But we don’t actually hear Trump in the video, Woods just announces, “I was just talking with the President.” Seems like the kind of thing you say when you’re hoping the cops won’t even bother arresting a Friend of Don.
3. Woods thought Trump could get him out of jail. Trump can’t actually pardon people for DUIs in the state of Florida. But he’s developed such a reputation for using and abusing his clemency powers that there was already a fake Truth Social post circulating online that purports to show Trump calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to “IMMEDIATELY AND COMPLETELY pardon Tiger.”
There’s no evidence that Trump tried to intervene in Woods’ DUI case — but it does seem like exactly the kind of thing he’d do. Honestly, maybe we should all try giving Trump a ring when we run into trouble with the law. (His personal number isn’t that hard to find,) It didn’t work for Tiger, but it’s worth a shot.
