Tiger Woods’ relationship with Trump blasted by ESPN host Max Kellerman

ESPN’s Max Kellerman said Monday on “First Take” that Tiger Woods’ response to questions about President Trump made him “angry.”

Woods was asked after the final round of The Northern Trust on Sunday about his relationship with Trump and urged people to respect the officer of the president.

“He’s the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office,” he said.

Kellerman blasted Woods’ remarks, saying it was a “thoughtless statement dressed up as a thoughtful statement.”

“And it either holds in contempt the intelligence of people who hear it or else it’s just a stupid thing to say. … To say you must have respect for the office — Tiger, be clear. Are you saying that the office, therefore, confers respect on to its present temporary occupant? No. Having respect for the office means principally, in my view, is the office holder should have respect for the office,” he said.

The co-host continued: “We are held to a standard of behavior, we at our jobs, right, people in their daily lives. The president, if anything, is held to a higher standard of behavior. It is not such that we have such great respect for the office that no matter what the behavior of its occupant, we must respect the occupant because of the office. No. Tiger Woods … is being slick. We must respect the office therefore that confers respect to the occupant. Tiger, is that is what you are saying? If that is what you are saying, that is a stupid comment.”

Trump and Woods are known golfing partners for years and have remained in touch ever since Trump took office.

“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” Woods said. “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”

The golf star was then asked to comment about the race relations in the country, which he declined.

“No. I just finished 72 holes and really hungry,” Woods said and moved on to questions that were relevant to his performance at the tournament that day.

Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.