There aren’t many heavily populated areas where Donald Trump can go and expect cheers, but Nassau County in New York is one of them. Trump rallies on Long Island have drawn massive crowds. In September 2024, over 60,000 people requested tickets for his Nassau Coliseum rally, far exceeding the venue’s 16,000‑seat capacity. Fans attending this year's Ryder Cup paid $2,250 for a three-day pass to the competition between American and European golfers, held every two years and alternating between continents. The steep price made it more likely that Trump would be among his wealthy supporters.
Trump played a role in preventing a transportation crisis that could have crippled the 2025 Ryder Cup.
- In the weeks leading up to the event, there was a looming Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) strike. With no public parking allowed at Bethpage Black, as many as 18,000 fans per day were expected to rely on the LIRR to reach the course.
- On Sept. 21, 2025, the White House announced that Trump had signed an executive order establishing a Presidential Emergency Board to intervene in the labor dispute. This delayed the strike and allowed trains to continue running.
- Team USA golfer Bryson DeChambeau praised Trump’s “decisive leadership,” saying the Ryder Cup experience would have been disrupted without his action.
Trump personally took credit for “saving the Ryder Cup” and attended the opening rounds on Friday, September 26. When he walked onto the grounds with his granddaughter Kai, he was greeted by boisterous chants of “U‑S‑A” and shouts of his name. Many spectators wore his signature “Make America Great Again” hat, and videos posted online showed fans chanting “Donald Trump” as he took his seat. Earlier in the week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul had been loudly booed by the same crowd, underscoring how heavily the gallery leaned toward Trump.
Trump wasn’t present on the second day of the competition, but his attitude remained. On Saturday, September 27, Bethpage Black turned into one of the most hostile Ryder Cup atmospheres in modern history. What began as typical rowdy New York energy crossed into something darker — relentless heckling, personal insults, and even physical altercations.
European Rory McIlroy was the main lightning rod. Fans screamed “F — — you, Rory” during his backswings and putts, forcing him to back away multiple times. He eventually snapped, telling fans to “shut the f — — up” and refused to putt until the noise stopped. Lowry, his partner, also lost his temper, shouting back at spectators and nearly confronting one directly before being restrained by his caddie.
Abuse went far beyond golf banter. Reporters on the ground described homophobic, sexist, and xenophobic slurs hurled at McIlroy. Fans taunted Lowry about his weight and made derogatory comments about McIlroy’s wife and family. At one point, McIlroy had to walk through a “gauntlet” of fans extending middle fingers and shouting emasculating insults.
The situation escalated to the point that state police and troopers with dogs were deployed along the ropes to maintain order. Despite warnings from officials, the disturbances continued into the afternoon.
A brawl erupted in the grandstand beside the 18th green late in the day, described as a “vicious punch-up” between fans. The incident highlighted how the atmosphere had shifted from passionate to volatile. European players, including McIlroy, appeared shaken but still managed to win their matches.
Team USA golfers like Justin Thomas and Cameron Young tried to quiet the crowd, raising their hands to signal “enough” when the heckling crossed the line.
Donald Trump didn’t need to be at Bethpage Black on Saturday for his presence to be felt. The chants, jeers, middle fingers, and brawls all bore his toxic energy. He has spent years normalizing cruelty as entertainment, turning politics into a blood sport where humiliation is the goal and rage is the currency. What unfolded at the Ryder Cup was not an aberration — it was a reflection of the culture he has cultivated.
Trump’s impact on society is measured not only in his policies and executive orders, but also in the way he has reshaped public behavior. He has emboldened people to confuse freedom with license, to mistake vulgarity for strength, and to treat opponents not as rivals but as enemies to be destroyed. The gallery at Bethpage Black mirrored the rallies he has staged across the country: loud, angry, and intoxicated by the thrill of domination.
Golf, like democracy, depends on rules, respect, and a shared sense of fairness. When those values are eroded, the game collapses into chaos. The Ryder Cup crowd showed us what happens when Trump’s ethos seeps into every arena of public life: civility gives way to hostility, and community gives way to contempt.
The danger is not confined to a golf course. It is the same danger that stalks our politics, our schools, our neighborhoods. If we allow Trump’s brand of performative cruelty to define what it means to be American, we risk losing more than a tournament. We risk losing the very possibility of a society built on dignity, truth, and respect.
The Ryder Cup showed itself to be a mirror. And what it reflected on that Saturday was a nation still struggling with the corrosive legacy of a man who thrives on division. The question is whether we will continue to cheer it on — or finally decide that enough is enough.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.