Society 3 min read By Morgan Griffin
Trump’s Old Golf Dig at Biden Hits Differently Now
The line sounds like a callback to the 2024 debate, but Biden’s cancer diagnosis has changed the context around Trump’s latest post.
Donald Trump has brought back one of the strangest recurring bits from his rivalry with Joe Biden: arguing about who is better at golf.
On Aug. 7, Trump posted a photo of Biden on a golf course to Truth Social and wrote, “Biden isn’t even a 100 Handicap.” If that sounds like a leftover joke from the 2024 election, that is because golf became an unlikely symbol of the two men’s argument over age, strength and who looked more physically capable.
But the same line lands differently in 2026. Biden is now being treated for metastatic prostate cancer, and his son Hunter has recently described the disease as painful and debilitating. Boldest Voice reported that Trump’s new post revives a personal taunt while the former president’s health has become a much more serious part of his public life.
Biden’s cancer diagnosis was announced in May 2025. His office said the disease was aggressive and had spread to bone, but was hormone-sensitive and could be treated. The disclosure came after Biden had already left office and after the political world had spent years debating his age and physical condition.
Golf was always part sport, part meme in the Trump-Biden rivalry. During the 2024 presidential debate, the candidates somehow ended up comparing handicaps while discussing whether they were fit to serve. Trump said Biden could not hit a ball 50 yards. Biden said he had once gotten his handicap down to six and challenged Trump to carry his own golf bag.
The argument became instant internet material because of how absurd it felt: two presidential candidates trying to settle an age question through golf bragging. It was funny, awkward and deeply political at the same time.
Trump has never treated golf as just recreation. He regularly uses tournament wins at his own clubs as part of his image of competitiveness and stamina. The sport also gives him an easy visual language for insults: winners, losers, scores, swings and physical control.
Biden no longer occupies the same role in that performance. He is not campaigning against Trump and is not making the case that his golf game proves anything about presidential fitness. His public reality now includes cancer treatment and pain management.
Trump’s post does not mention cancer and should not be described as a direct joke about the disease. The tension comes from the collision between an old insult and a new reality. A line that once belonged to campaign trash talk now targets a man whose health has become visibly more fragile.
There is also a contrast with Trump’s response when Biden’s diagnosis became public. At the time, Trump said he and Melania were saddened and wished Biden a fast and successful recovery.
The sympathy did not end their political hostility. The new golf post makes that clear. The rivalry may no longer be electoral, but in Trump’s social-media world the scorecard is apparently still open.
