Trump’s unfounded voter fraud theory was fueled by German golfer Bernhard Langer

What does a decorated German golfer have to do with a “major investigation” into voter fraud sought by the U.S. president? Much more than one might expect.

On Wednesday, the New York Times published a story about President Donald Trump’s remarks at a bipartisan luncheon held Monday. He repeated his claim, an unfounded assertion with little evidence to support it, that he would have won the popular vote but for 3 million to 5 million illegal ballots that were cast for Hillary Clinton.

When challenged on that assertion by a Democrat attending the luncheon, Trump relayed a story he said he was told by his friend, “the very famous golfer, Bernhard Langer.” The two-time Masters winner, now a fixture on the PGA’s Champions Tour, had a frustrating experience when trying to vote near his Florida home on Election Day, according to the president.

Langer was told while standing in line that he would not be able to vote, but what Trump did not mention was that Langer is not a U.S. citizen. That was confirmed to the Times’s Glenn Thrush by the 59-year-old golfer’s daughter, Christina Langer, who graduated from Florida Atlantic last year after spending four years on the school’s golf team.

Citing staff members who also attended the luncheon, the Times reported that Trump said part of Langer’s frustration was that “ahead of and behind [him in line] were voters who did not look as if they should be allowed to vote.” Trump “threw out the names of Latin American countries that the voters might have come from,” according to the newspaper, which noted that a White House official “contradicted” that version of the depicted events.

Langer is a permanent resident of the U.S. but “a citizen of Germany,” his daughter told the Times. She added, “He is not a friend of President Trump’s, and I don’t know why he would talk about him.” From the newspaper’s account:

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A senior White House staff member, who was not at the Monday reception but has heard Mr. Trump tell the story, said Mr. Langer saw Mr. Trump in Florida during the Thanksgiving break and told him the story of a friend of Mr. Langer’s who had been blocked from voting.

The story, the aide added, had made a strong impression on Mr. Trump

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Wednesday also saw Trump sign executive actions to build a wall along the border with Mexico. In addition, he issued directives aimed at the 11 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S and at tightening avenues for legal immigration.

Trump is known as an avid fan of golf, one who owns numerous courses, including several that have hosted high-level professional tournaments. However, the PGA has moved its World Golf Championship, long held at Trump National Doral in Florida, to Mexico City, with the tour’s commissioner, Tim Finchem, acknowledging last year that “politics may have contributed some.”

Langer, a native of Bavaria, has 103 professional wins, including the two Masters, won in 1985 and 1993. He has 30 victories on the Champions Tour, including one at the just-completed Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, and is the tour’s reigning player of the year.

In 2014, Langer told reporters at the Allianz Championship, “I am going to become an American citizen when I decided I want to or need to. I don’t feel the need at this point. I pay my taxes here like every citizen here does. I still have a German passport. Why should I trade in my German passport for an American one when I can vote in Germany? Right now, I’m not sure I want to vote the way it is going. . . . At this point I do not see any necessity to do it. It doesn’t mean I will not in the future. I have a green card, I pay my taxes. The only thing I cannot do is vote.”