Fault lies in Trump resort’s stars
Partisans hijack online reviews
President Trump will spend his vacation teeing off on the fairways and Twitter in the bucolic wilds of northern New Jersey this week at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster — with a partisan battle raging in the resort’s starred reviews between the MAGA crowd and the Resisters.
The average on Google Reviews for the Bedminster club is three stars out of five. That’s right down the middle, as keyboard warriors who may or may not actually ever have been to the swanky golf club battle it out as some attempt to hit the polarizing president where it hurts — his business — while others play Trump defense.
Unabashed Trump basher “Subversive Dan” gave the club one star, and then wrote what’s clearly meant to be a sendup of Trump’s controversial border security policies.
“My family and I have been members of a nearby golf club, but it was starting to go downhill so last weekend we decided to check out Trump’s course and see if we wanted to switch. But the moment we got to the gate, the guards took our kids away! We managed to fill out the application forms before they kicked us out, but we still don’t have our kids back! I’m not sure I want to join this club anymore,” the commenter wrote.
Jimmy Kastner, also giving the place just a single star, wrote, “Great place to escape the duties of your presidency.”
But Livan Luciano Jr. commented with his rave review: “The 5 stars are for our president.”
Jordan Erlewine, who also gave the property five stars, wrote, “Don’t take the 1 star reviews seriously. They are extreme leftists.”
Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University political communication professor, said the Trump haters’ digital campaign aimed at their loathed adversary’s bottom line is the 21st-century version of a boycott. These days, Berkovitz told the Herald, it’s become more common — especially by folks on the political left — to try to undermine businesses run by people whose views or actions they believe to be bad.
“The CEO or endorser is a reflection of the brand, but also a lightning rod for people who don’t like the brand,” Berkowitz said. “Just like everything else, it’s become highly politicized and highly partisan.”