Trump’s golf course in New York to host Saudi-backed women’s event

A New York City-owned golf course run by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s company is set to host a Saudi-backed women’s tournament in October, city officials said Friday.

The plan to host the Aramco Team Series at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx comes after New York’s attempt to void Trump’s contract to run the course was thrown out by a judge in April.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said shortly after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was voiding Trump’s contracts to run the golf course and several concessions in Central. Park. The Democratic mayor said the city has the legal right to terminate a contract with a company whose leaders engage in criminal activity such as inciting an insurrection.

Manhattan State Court Judge Debra James ruled that the city’s claim that the Trump Organization breached the contracts had no legal basis.

The Aramco Team Series, first played in 2020 under the name Saudi Ladies Team International, is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Some family members of 9/11 victims who blame Saudi Arabia for the 2001 terror attacks have criticized Trump for organizing the Saudi-backed tour.

The Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks.

Messages seeking comment on the October 13-15 Aramco tournament in New York City have been sent to the Trump Organization and the Aramco Team Series.

Nick Paolucci, spokesman for the city’s legal department, said: « As the ruling in the previous administration’s court case showed, contractually the city is obligated to follow the terms of the settlement agreement. Trump Ferry license and cannot unreasonably withhold approval of this tournament.”