In a letter on Sunday, members of the 9/11 Justice group asked to meet with Mr. Trump and urged him not to host the event, which had been scheduled for July 29-31, noting that Mr. Trump had accused Saudi Arabia for the attack. “We just can’t understand how you could agree to accept money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Golf Championship to host their tournament at your golf course and do it in the shadow of ground zero in New Jersey, which lost over 700 residents during the attacks,” they wrote in the letter. “It is incomprehensible to us that a former president of the United States would put aside our loved ones for personal financial gain,” they wrote to Mr Trump, who is expected to run for president again in 2024. “We hope you will reconsider your business association with the Saudi golf championship and you will agree to meet with us.” In the letter, the group noted that Mr. Trump told Fox News in February 2016: “Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn’t the Iraqis. It was Saudi Arabia. Take a look at Saudi Arabia.” He went on to say: “People came, most of the people came from Saudi Arabia. They didn’t come from Iraq.” An email sent to the 9/11 Justice was not immediately returned Sunday. Messages left at Mr. Trump’s club in Bedminster, also with a representative for Mr. Trump, were also not immediately returned. The Saudi-backed golf championship is part of a campaign by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to revamp the kingdom’s image in the eyes of the world. The man who defeated Mr. Trump in 2020, President Biden, has recently faced criticism for his own relationship with Saudi Arabia. Last week, during a trip to the Middle East, Mr Biden took a swipe at Prince Mohammed, who has been blamed by the CIA for the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Mr. Biden said he confronted Prince Mohammed about the assassination during a closed-door meeting with him. Saudi officials disputed his account.
