In 1994, Kim Jong Il — the a debauched late North Korean leader — set a sporting record that’ll likely stand until the end of recorded time: He supposedly shot 38 under par during his very first round of golf, with a record 11 holes-in-one.
Unfortunately, the event wasn’t televised, though it was reported, tongue-in-cheek fashion, by ESPN, on the dictator’s death in 2011. Nor were there Western sports reporters on hand at the Pyongyang golf course when it took place. It seems North Korean state media was the only outlet that had firsthand reporting on the epic round of golf. And who wouldn’t trust North Korean media?
Of all the preposterous lies Pyongyang has told about the Kim family, the 11 holes-in-one remains the most well-known, even if it isn’t the most preposterous.
Similarly, the American left maintained an odd fascination with stories of former President Donald Trump’s fudging of his golf score — as if were a dire sign of his ingrained perfidy. Heck, former Sports Illustrated scribe Rick Reilly wrote an entire book about it called (sigh) “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.”
“Trump doesn’t just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card Monte dealer. He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs,” Reilly wrote, according to an excerpt published in Golf Magazine.
Reilly explained why he thought this was important: “I used to have this coach who told us, ‘How you do one thing is how you do everything. You loaf in practice, you’re gonna loaf in the game. You cheat on your tests, you’re gonna cheat on your wife.’”
Reilly’s not as active as he used to be, content-wise — but even if he decides to start churning out reams of it this week, I doubt he’s going to be calling out Vice President Kamala Harris’ team on how they portrayed her basketball skills.
If you believe Opal Vadhan, the veep’s personal aide, those skills are amazing. This was Vadhan’s tweet Wednesday, showcasing Harris hitting a shot in a suit and heels. As Fox News reported, Harris was at American University in D.C., marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law against sex discrimination that revolutionized funding of collegiate women’s sports programs:
Madam @VP
🏀🏀🏀 pic.twitter.com/R0vFHbTFCZ— Opal Vadhan (@OpalVadhan46) June 22, 2022
“Madam @VP,” she tweeted, along with three basketball emojis.
However, as the Republican National Committee noted, this wasn’t exactly an accurate picture of what happened:
She missed the first five shots…pic.twitter.com/nWZvLo37Am https://t.co/z4O9DhoIMs
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 23, 2022
The full clip shows Harris, at times seeming unsure of how to even grip the ball, missing five short shots in a row before draining that one (after moving closer to the basket). It’s painful to watch.
“Not gonna lie, I thought Kamala had better ball skills than this,” tweeted Clay Travis, impresario of sports website Outkick the Coverage.
Not gonna lie, I thought Kamala had better ball skills than this. pic.twitter.com/CG0kUXGnw7
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 23, 2022
Now, this isn’t to poke fun at Harris for her ball skills; heaven knows I’m bad enough at my weekly pickup game, and I’m in shorts and basketball shoes. She’s in high heels and a suit.
Still, if you want proof that Rick Reilly’s coach knew what he was talking about, you’ve got it here.
The subtext of Opal Vadhan’s tweet was clear: Kamala Harris is such a girlboss that she hit a shot just like that. Isn’t she doing great? Who wouldn’t adore a veep that’s casually killing it like this?
Oh, wait — that was at least her sixth attempt at a shot most clumsy fourth-graders could hit in their Easter best in no less than three attempts? That doesn’t look good. Why is Vadhan bragging? Would the Twitter world have noticed if Vadhan had just let the event pass without mention?
It could serve as the perfect metaphor for President Joe Biden’s administration in general, but it fits Harris particularly well. The vice president was supposed to, essentially, serve not just as Biden’s No. 2 but as his 1B — the heir apparent to a man who was a high-mileage 78 when he took office, someone who was ready to step in at a moment’s notice.
To use another sports metaphor, Harris has been a draft bust. She’s the one politician America dislikes more than Joe Biden — and that might factor into Biden deciding to run for another term, if just because he doesn’t see any alternative that can beat whoever the Republicans nominate.
There’s a reason why we remember Kim Jong Il’s outrageous lie that he scored 11 holes-in-one: It says everything we need to know about the man and his banana-less (and food-less) banana republic.
Harris’ staff’s lie of omission isn’t on that level, obviously — but it, too, says all we need to know about her failed vice presidency thus far.
Story cited here.
