The daughter of the late golfing icon Arnold Palmer, Peg Palmer Wears, expressed her thoughts on Donald Trump’s inappropriate allusions to her father’s anatomy as a way of commemorating his legacy. Despite finding it an unfortunate method of remembrance, she noted that she was not angered by the comments.
“There’s nothing much to say. I’m not really upset,” the 68-year-old Wears shared in an interview. She added, “I think it was a poor choice of approaches to remembering my father, but what are you going to do?”
During a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania—Palmer’s birthplace—Trump entertained his audience with a lengthy, 12-minute story that included a detailed description of Palmer’s experience in the shower rooms alongside other golfers. “When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable,’” Trump recounted with amusement. “I had to say, we have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man.”
Wears mentioned that although her interactions with Trump were limited to brief meetings at events years ago, both shared a mutual passion for golf. Reflecting on her father, who passed away in 2016, she reminisced about his unwavering belief in the Republican Party.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what my father would have said regarding events or current affairs,” Wears noted. “While we didn’t always see eye to eye, he was the epitome of an American who held a strong belief in this nation, even when he had doubts about its course.”
On a Sunday broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, representing Louisiana, was questioned multiple times regarding his views on Trump’s remarks but avoided providing a direct answer. “I’ll address it, let me answer it,” he stated, yet failed to respond to the inquiry.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu expressed his disapproval of Trump’s statements, which included profane remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris. However, he believed such comments would not significantly influence voters. Sununu commented, “It’s just par for the course. He speaks in hyperbole. He gets his crowds riled up.”
In contrast, Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont criticized Trump’s comments, suggesting they illustrate a lack of focus on pressing national issues, potentially alienating voters. “You have many Americans, whether conservative or progressive, who say, ‘Really?’” Sanders remarked on CNN. “Major issues are at stake. Is this the kind of individual we want in the presidential office?”
Wears, who opted not to reveal her voting preferences for the approaching Nov. 5 election, affirmed that she will participate in the election in North Carolina, referring to her voter status as “unaffiliated.” “The residents of western Pennsylvania are intelligent and diligent, and they will make their own choices, just as I will based on my knowledge and understanding,” she stated about the forthcoming election. “I hope everyone votes with that same spirit.”