Trump Plays Golf Amid Military Missile Defense
An Avenger air defense system was deployed at the Bedminster golf course, with around 300 Secret Service agents assigned to the president. Fears of Iranian retaliation have never been higher.
An Avenger air defense system was deployed at the Bedminster golf course, with around 300 Secret Service agents assigned to the president. Fears of Iranian retaliation have never been higher.
Security measures around U.S. President Donald Trump have reached unprecedented levels in recent weeks. While attending the final round of the LIV Golf tournament at the Bedminster course in New Jersey over the weekend, a military Avenger air defense system, surrounded by barbed wire, was positioned just a few meters away. More than a dozen soldiers were tasked with operating the system, and materials shared on social media also revealed a Sentinel radar, designed to detect aerial targets.
According to the German newspaper Bild, this equipment is typically deployed to protect military units on the battlefield. The system is armed with Stinger missiles capable of bringing down low-flying aircraft and drones, including modified commercial drones that potential attackers might use in an assassination attempt. The footage showing the president alongside the air defense systems was posted on August 10, 2026, on platform X by user MeidasTouch.
Trump appears to have taken the situation with a touch of humor. In a video from a meeting with unit members, recorded in early August, he said, "I'm not worried about missiles and drones." One of the soldiers, pointing his thumb toward the defense system behind them, replied, "We've got everything under control."
The heightened security comes at a time when concerns about a potential Iranian strike on Trump are particularly pronounced, as the United States and Iran have entered open conflict. Bild reports that approximately 300 Secret Service agents have been deployed around the president in recent times.
A no-fly zone has been established over the golf course where Trump is playing. On Sunday, F-16 fighters under NORAD command intercepted two small civilian aircraft that had entered the protected airspace above the course without authorization, according to a statement from the command structure posted on X. Both aircraft were safely escorted out of the area.
Trump has faced multiple threats and assassination attempts in recent years. In July 2024, a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally and struck him in the ear. Two months later, a Secret Service agent spotted an armed man in the bushes near one of Trump's golf courses in Florida.
Iranian threats have a long history. In early 2020, Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, was killed in a U.S. airstrike. Shortly thereafter, a photo of a drone hovering over a Trump-like figure playing golf was posted from an account linked to then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, interpreted as a veiled threat of retaliation.
According to reports, Khamenei was killed in late February this year in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike. Despite this, defensive measures around the president have not been reduced but have been further strengthened since Washington and Tehran entered direct military conflict.
