Donald Trump’s campaign is trying hard to appeal to average American workers, but the former president already has one segment of the workforce in the bag. And it just so happens they can tell you how wonderful the 2024 GOP presidential nominee is.
Alongside populist vice presidential selection J.D. Vance and history-making Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, a stable of “everyday Americans” handpicked by the Trump campaign are lined up to speak in Milwaukee. Between decorated war heroes, single mothers and legal immigrants are two workers representing a small but mighty constituency: staff at Trump’s own golf clubs.
One of them is John Nieporte, the head pro at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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“John worked his way up from an assistant golf pro and Donald Trump’s caddie to become the head golf pro at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach,” a Friday press release announcing his speaking slot declares. “John has tried to qualify for the U.S. Open ‘more than 20 times,’ and it started with his boss, Trump, pushing him to concentrate on his game and follow his golf dreams.”
The son of professional golfer Tom Nieporte, the younger Nieporte told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in a 2013 interview that he got his start picking up trash at Trump International. From there, Nieporte’s experience doesn’t exactly mirror that of a typical American worker. He ended up caddying for the former president, who, after firing his last head pro, put Nieporte through a grueling nine holes instead of an interview.
“It's lucky, being in the right place at the right time,” Nieporte said.
Nieporte (circled) is a veteran Trump employee.
Rob Carr/Getty Images/Daily BeastWhen Nieporte finally qualified for the U.S. Open in 2013, he earned a short ESPN profile that heavily quoted Trump. "I did encourage him to go out and play," Trump said back then. "He's a great player.” And the former president boasted, “I made him a pro.”
The Trump organization’s website features Nieporte, flanked by palm trees, delivering a virtual lesson about perfecting a golf grip. A LinkedIn page with his name lists no other work experience.
Another “everyday American” on the RNC speakers list is Carrie Ruiz, golf general manager at Trump National Doral who, according to the campaign’s press release, can speak to an issue that surely tops voters’ concerns: how well the Trumps care for their resorts.
“She witnessed firsthand how the Trump family and its patriarch put hundreds of millions of dollars along with their sweat and tears into the Doral property after its acquisition,” the press release said.
Ruiz’s proudly displays her employment on her LinkedIn profile, which details a decade working at the Doral resort, preceded by nearly fifteen years as director of golf, spa and leisure sales for the Trump Hotel Collection.
Carrie Ruiz uses her LinkedIn page to display her links to Trump and show visually her pride at working for him, which she will express on stage at the RNC.
LinkedInThe former president is a well-known avid golfer who averaged playing more than once a week during his presidency, according to a Washington Post estimate. (The exact number of times he played is a closely-guarded secret.)
Trump touts his golfing as proof of his vitality. When Megyn Kelly asked during an interview in Bedminster last September whether his age would be a downside for voters, the former president brushed off concerns.
“I play golf,” he said. “I win club championships. And I beat people that are 25 years younger than me. I hit the ball just as far as I ever—I actually think I hit it a little bit further, at this club, this is a big club with a lot of good members, a lot of good players.”
He and President Joe Biden even got into it over their respective handicaps during their June debate, before Trump panned the president’s performance from a golf cart.
But the notoriously pricey pastime clashes with the worker-friendly image Trump has been cultivating. His campaign has repeatedly slammed Biden for presiding over sky-high inflation and unaffordable housing. O’Brien spent seventeen minutes at the RNC Monday night needling “big money think tanks” and “the corporate elite”—exactly the crowds who have the time and money to play a few rounds.
The average American worker certainly can’t swing a membership at Trump International; in 2021, the initiation fee alone reportedly hit $350,000.
