By Steve Keating
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Golf great Jack Nicklaus has not ruled again voting for Donald Trump for president, saying on Thursday he had always supported the best candidate.
Trump welcomed Nicklaus’s endorsement in 2020 and, despite the former president’s legal problems – including Tuesday’s arraignment on charges of falsifying business records – the 18-times major winner would consider backing him again.
“Well, we’ll have to see what happens,” Nicklaus told reporters at Augusta National. “You know, I’ve always supported who I thought was the best candidate.
“I think Donald Trump was the last time. Whether Donald will be this time or not, I don’t know.”
The front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in a Manhattan court, becoming the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges.
Nicklaus spoke after hitting one of the ceremonial tee shots to officially open the 2023 Masters.
He found himself in an unwanted political spotlight in October 2020 when he publicly came out supporting Trump, warning the country against turning “socialist”.
At the time Nicklaus praised Trump as the right man for the job, saying: “This is not a personality contest; it’s about patriotism, policies and the people they impact. His love for America and its citizens, and putting his country first, has come through loud and clear.”
For now the 83-year-old, who has golfed many times with Trump at the former president’s resorts, is taking a more wait- and-see approach to the 2024 election.
“I don’t like to brand myself as a Republican,” said Nicklaus. “I like to sort of brand myself as being able to think freely, and I voted for a lot of Democrats through the years as well as Republicans… And we’ve got a year and a half to wait for that to see what’s going to happen.”
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Augusta; editing by John Stonestreet)
