Nicklaus: “I never got any blowback, and I’m sure I had a ton of it"

If you’ve read any replies to a Jack Nicklaus social media post since his endorsement of Donald Trump and predictions of a “socialist America”, the tone of that endorsement continues to fill up his timeline nine months later.

Well if you wondered if his righthand man Scott Tolley ever is asked to read his “replies”, the answer is a big no.

From Leonard Shapiro writing for the Washington Post on various Nicklaus-related topics, starting with the feedback he’s not gotten.

“This is not a personality contest; it’s about patriotism,” Nicklaus tweeted. “His love for America and its citizens, and putting his country first, has come through loud and clear.

Nicklaus said Monday he paid no attention to the torrent of criticism that followed.

“I never got any blowback, and I’m sure I had a ton of it,” he said. “But I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I didn’t see any of it.”

Nicklaus said he wrote the tweet after Vice President Mike Pence called him shortly before the election and said Trump thought it would be too awkward to personally ask Nicklaus himself.

Ahhhh, such a modest man is The Donald!

Nicklaus also made clear the endorsement was a thank you for a bill provision.

Nicklaus said Trump and Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, had helped get a provision included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (also known as the Cares Act) that provided funds for free-standing children’s hospitals that initially were not included in the bill.

“He went to bat for us,” said Nicklaus, whose foundation has raised close to $200 million for children’s facilities since 2004. “There were 28 free-standing children’s hospitals, and they got $50 million apiece. They were losing money during covid, and it really helped. … I couldn’t help but support the guy.”

Unfortunately, those hospitals became busy places over the last month.