Below the belt

Vulgar comment from Trump about dead golf star

Donald Trump causes a stir with a vulgar comment about golf star Arnold Palmer.

(Bild: AP)

This verbal gaffe by Donald Trump was below the belt: the Republican presidential candidate talked about the length of the late golf star Arnold Palmer's penis during a campaign appearance in his hometown on Sunday ... 

During the appearance in the town of Latrope in the US state of Pennsylvania, Trump said of the sportsman who died in 2016: "Arnold Palmer was a man through and through - and I say that with all due respect to women. When he would shower with other pros, they would come out and say: 'Oh my God. That's incredible.'"

The comment, apparently referring to the size of Palmer's genitals, caused a stir. Trump probably realized himself that he had gone a little too far with his comment and added a short time later: "I had to tell you the part about the shower because it's true. And we want to be honest."

Palmer was one of the first golf stars
Palmer is a household name in the USA - a mixed drink of iced tea and lemonade is named after him. Palmer began his career in the 1950s. Together with other stars such as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, he made golf popular with the general public in the 1960s.

Legends among themselves: Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at a joint appearance in 2012

(Bild: AFP/Getty Images)

"A new dimension of vulgarity"
The New York Times wrote about Trump's appearance: "Trump reaches new levels of vulgarity." At the same rally, Trump also called Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival in the presidential election on November 5, a "shitty vice president".

Harris responded to the remark in a TV interview: "The American people deserve much better." The President of the United States must set a standard - "not just for our nation, but for the standard that we as a nation must set for the world". Trump's behavior demeans the office of the president, the 60-year-old said.