2026-05-10 下午1:03 美东时间 / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：卡米拉·德查卢斯（Camila DeChalus）
2026年5月9日，在弗吉尼亚州斯特林市特朗普国家高尔夫俱乐部举办的马登LIV高尔夫锦标赛上，选手布莱森·德尚博（Bryson DeChambeau，前景）向中间的唐纳德·特朗普总统脱帽致意。
亚历克斯·布兰登/美联社
总统唐纳德·特朗普本周末在其位于弗吉尼亚州的地产举办LIV高尔夫赛事后，专家们再次提出利益冲突和伦理方面的担忧，重新引发外界审查：特朗普家族是否在其任职期间通过支持一个背后有被指控存在侵犯人权行为的政府资助的高尔夫联赛而获取经济利益。
多年来，特朗普旗下的高尔夫球场一直是LIV高尔夫的避风港和展示平台。该联赛的主要资助方沙特阿拉伯政府被指控存在侵犯人权行为。（沙特政府上月宣布，将在2026赛季结束后停止对该联赛的资助。）
批评人士指责沙特阿拉伯部分通过该高尔夫联赛转移外界对其人权问题的关注，尤其是在2018年沙特异见记者贾马尔·卡舒吉被杀事件之后。
与此同时，沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金一直在体育领域大举投资，签约顶级球星以提升本国足球联赛的全球影响力，并牵头财团收购了一支英格兰足球俱乐部。沙特阿拉伯还在2021年与一级方程式赛车（F1）签署了一份为期10年的协议，主办年度大奖赛。
这些举动引发了广泛的“体育洗白”指控——即国家利用高规格体育赛事塑造本国正面形象的行为。
“沙特阿拉伯是一个充满暴力、专制、反民主的政权，”圣路易斯华盛顿大学政府伦理学客座教授凯瑟琳·克拉克（Kathleen Clark）告诉CNN。“（特朗普）愿意这么做，恰恰很好地体现了他的优先事项是什么。”
LIV高尔夫和沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金未回应CNN的置评请求。
与此同时，特朗普在两届任期内基本对沙特政府被指控的侵犯人权行为置之不理。去年在白宫与沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼会面时，当被问及卡舒吉被杀事件，总统愤怒地驳回了相关问题，称该记者“极具争议”，并坚称提问的记者是为了让王储难堪。
特朗普随后坚称，本·萨勒曼王储——美国中央情报局评估其大概率下令实施了谋杀——“对此一无所知，我们可以就此打住”。沙特阿拉伯政府官员多次否认这些指控，称对该记者的死亡毫不知情。沙特外交部2021年发表声明称，该国“完全拒绝报告中关于沙特领导层的负面、虚假和不可接受的评估，并指出报告包含不准确的信息和结论”。
在这场具备国事访问全部排场的会面中，特朗普对王储大加赞扬，包括称其在人权方面的记录“令人难以置信”。
赛事引发利益冲突质疑
作为一名狂热的高尔夫爱好者，特朗普过去两个周末都在其拥有的球场参加职业巡回赛，包括上周在佛罗里达州多拉举办的PGA巡回赛赛事，以及本周末在弗吉尼亚州斯特林举办的LIV赛事。
几位接受CNN采访的伦理专家表示，他们对特朗普在自己的地产举办这些高尔夫赛事感到担忧，因为几乎没有透明度可言，无法得知其家族获得了多少经济补偿。总统的资产由其子女管理的信托基金持有，特朗普曾表示，任职期间不会参与其商业运营。
“特朗普总统的资产由其子女管理的信托基金持有，”白宫发言人安娜·凯利（Anna Kelly）去年在给CNN的一份声明中表示。“不存在利益冲突。”
一位专家告诉CNN，潜在的利益冲突远不止高尔夫赛事。
“这不过是冰山一角，”明尼苏达大学法学院公司法教授理查德·佩特（Richard Painter）告诉CNN。“全世界都已经传达出一个信息：如果你想和特朗普政府搞好关系，就和特朗普家族、他的高尔夫球场或者他的儿子做生意。”
高尔夫赛事并非特朗普第二任期内唯一引发利益冲突质疑的问题。批评人士称，他公然将商业利益与总统职务混为一谈：其政府接受卡塔尔价值4亿美元的豪华喷气式飞机，与加密货币投资者共进晚餐，销售特朗普品牌智能手机，推广其苏格兰高尔夫球场等等。
在那次加密货币投资者晚宴事件后，白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特（Karoline Leavitt）去年对记者表示，“任何人暗示这位总统利用总统职务牟利都是荒谬的”。
圣克拉拉大学马克库拉应用伦理中心执行主任唐·海德（Don Heider）呼吁国会就这些潜在的利益冲突对总统进行监督。
“参众两院议员们的职业道德何在？……他们为何如此害怕政治压力，以至于不能始终站出来说出真相，对这位总统进行问责？”他说道。
白宫、特朗普集团和PGA巡回赛均未回应CNN就伦理专家的担忧提出的置评请求。
特朗普在体育界的参与
与此同时，这些高尔夫赛事也是这位比近期前任总统更深度参与体育界的总统的最新例证。
他出席代托纳500汽车赛、国际足联俱乐部世界杯决赛、美国公开赛、莱德杯、大学橄榄球季后赛锦标赛以及多场终极格斗冠军赛（UFC）赛事，使其成为美国最高规格体育赛事的常客——这对于一位在任总统来说是相当不寻常的现象。
特朗普出席这些赛事有时会引发 backlash。在华盛顿指挥官队对阵底特律雄狮队的NFL比赛半场休息时，当他出现在体育场大屏幕上宣誓就职军方成员时，遭到了部分观众的嘘声。在俱乐部世界杯决赛上，当他在球场上为球员颁奖时，也遭到了嘘声。
特朗普还在多个问题上与体育领袖和联赛的互动程度打破了惯例。今年早些时候，他签署了一项行政命令，旨在防止任何橄榄球赛事与年度陆军-海军对抗赛竞争，称该赛事是美国最珍贵的体育传统之一。他还签署了一项行政命令，旨在遏制大学体育领域因启用运动员姓名、形象和肖像权支付制度而产生的相关成本。
特朗普还与国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）建立了友谊。因凡蒂诺去年在特朗普未能获得诺贝尔和平奖后，授予其首届国际足联和平奖。
与此同时，伦理专家的质疑可能会在今年夏天再度浮现——特朗普位于新泽西州贝德明斯特的高尔夫俱乐部将于8月初举办一场LIV赛事。
CNN的阿莱娜·特里尼（Alayna Treene）、马歇尔·科恩（Marshall Cohen）和凯文·利普塔克（Kevin Liptak）对本文亦有贡献。
Trump’s role as LIV Golf host renews scrutiny over conflicts of interest
2026-05-10 1:03 PM ET / CNN
By Camila DeChalus
Golfer Bryson DeChambeau, foreground, doffs his hat to President Donald Trump, center, during the Maaden LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on May 9, 2026.
Alex Brandon/AP
Experts are raising conflict-of-interest and ethical concerns after President Donald Trump hosted a LIV Golf event at his Virginia property this weekend, renewing scrutiny over whether the Trump family is financially benefiting from his time in office while supporting a golf league backed by a government accused of human rights abuses.
For years, Trump’s courses have served as both a refuge and a showcase for LIV, whose chief backer, Saudi Arabia’s government, has been accused of human rights violations. (The Saudi government announced last month that it will stop funding the league after the 2026 season.)
Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using the golf league in part to divert attention from its human rights concerns, particularly following the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It comes as the country’s Public Investment Fund has invested aggressively in sports more broadly, signing high-profile stars to increase the global prominence of its soccer league and leading a consortium to buy an English soccer team. Saudi Arabia also signed a 10-year deal with Formula 1 in 2021 to host annual races.
Those moves have led to widespread accusations of “sportswashing” — a concept that involves nations using high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of their country.
“Saudi Arabia is a murderous, authoritarian, anti-democratic region,” Kathleen Clark, a law professor in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, told CNN. “(Trump’s) willingness to do this is actually a really nice example about what his priorities are.”
LIV and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump, meanwhile, has largely shrugged off the Saudi government’s alleged human rights abuses in his two terms. During a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House last year, the president angrily dismissed a question about Khashoggi’s murder, claiming the journalist was “extremely controversial” and insisting a reporter raised the subject to embarrass the crown prince.
Trump then went on to insist Prince bin Salman — who the CIA assessed likely ordered the murder — “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.” Saudi Arabian government officials have repeatedly denied these accusations and claim they had no knowledge on the journalist’s death. The Saudi Foreign Ministry released a statement in 2021 saying the country “completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.”
At the meeting, which had all the trappings of a state visit, Trump heaped praise on the crown prince, including for what he called his “incredible” record on human rights.
Tournaments raise conflict of interest questions
The president, an avid golfer, has spent the past two weekends attending professional tour events at courses he owns, including last week’s PGA Tour stop in Doral, Florida, and this weekend’s LIV event in Sterling, Virginia.
Several ethics experts who spoke to CNN say they are wary of Trump hosting these golf tournaments at his properties because there is little transparency around how much financial compensation his family is obtaining. The president’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and Trump has said he wouldn’t be involved in running his business during his time in office.
“President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to CNN last year. “There are no conflicts of interest.”
One expert told CNN the potential conflicts go beyond golf tournaments.
“This is just going to be the tip of the iceberg,” Richard Painter, a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota Law School, told CNN. “And the message has been said all over the world that if you want to get along with the Trump administration, do business with the Trump family or with his golf courses or with his son.”
The golf events aren’t the only issues raising questions over conflicts of interest in Trump’s second term. Critics say he has brazenly blended his business interests with the presidency by having his administration accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, dining with wealthy investors in his cryptocurrency coin, selling a Trump-branded smartphone, promoting his Scotland golf properties, and more.
On the crypto investors’ dinner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last year it was “absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.”
Don Heider, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, called on Congress to check the president on these potential conflicts.
“Where are the ethics of all the members of the Senate and the House? … Why are they so afraid of political pressure they won’t speak up and tell the truth consistently and hold this president accountable?” he said.
The White House, the Trump Organization and the PGA did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the ethics experts’ concerns.
Trump’s involvement in the sports world
The golf events, meanwhile, also serve as the latest example of a president who is more heavily engaged with the sports world than his recent predecessors.
His appearances at the Daytona 500, FIFA Club World Cup final, the US Open, the Ryder Cup, the College Football Playoff Championship and several UFC fights have made him a fixture at the highest-profile American sporting events — a somewhat unusual phenomenon for a sitting president.
Trump’s attendance at these events has at times prompted backlash. He was booed by some during halftime of a Washington Commanders-Detroit Lions NFL game as he was featured on the stadium’s jumbotron swearing in members of the military. He also was on the receiving end of boos at the Club World Cup final as he presented medals to players on the field.
The president has also broken norms with his level of engagement with sports leaders and leagues on a number of issues. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order aimed at preventing any football games from competing with the annual Army-Navy matchup, calling the game one of the country’s most cherished sporting traditions. He also signed an executive order aimed at stemming costs associated with the onset of the name, imaged and likeness payment system in college sports.
Trump has also developed a friendship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who last year awarded Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize after Trump’s failed push to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meanwhile, the questions from ethics experts will likely resurface this summer — Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, will host a LIV event in early August.
CNN’s Alayna Treene, Marshall Cohen and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.