Trump Welcomes Tiger Woods to White House; Honors Prince Estabrook: “1776, Not 1619”

President Trump hosted a Black History Month event at the White House in February 2025 that featured legendary golfer Tiger Woods, HUD Secretary Turner, Senator Tim Scott, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Trump drew a sharp historical contrast with the Biden administration, declaring: “The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year: 1619. Under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date: 1776.” He then told the story of Prince Estabrook, an enslaved Black man who was among the first Americans wounded at Lexington Green, and celebrated his administration’s fourth-week achievements as exceeding “most administrations in four years."

"Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!”

The event opened with a moment of celebrity spectacle as Trump called Tiger Woods to the podium. “Would you want to just say a couple of words, Tiger?” Trump asked, noting with a laugh that the golf legend appeared more comfortable on a fairway than behind a microphone.

Trump then led the crowd in a chant: “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!”

Woods kept his remarks brief and gracious. “Hey, it’s an honor to be here. It’s an honor to be here with you, Mr. President, and to be here with all of you,” Woods said. “Thank you so much.”

The presence of one of the most recognized athletes in the world at a White House Black History Month event carried symbolic weight. Woods, whose father was of mixed African-American, Chinese, and Native American heritage, represented achievement at the highest level of a sport that had historically excluded Black Americans. Trump’s enthusiastic reception of Woods — and Woods’ willingness to attend a Trump White House event — conveyed a message of cultural inclusion that transcended political partisanship.

HUD Secretary Turner: “For All America”

HUD Secretary Turner delivered brief but impassioned remarks, thanking Trump for the appointment and pledging his commitment to service.

“I want to thank President Trump for his confidence in appointing me to this position. I consider it a great honor and a great blessing,” Turner said. “And I thank God for this, and I’m real humbled by it. And you can guarantee that every day that I’m going to lay it down for the people of America.”

Turner then broadened his message beyond the Black community. “For all of those who have gone before us, and those of you who have such a great voice today, keep on speaking, keep on preaching,” Turner said. “For not just Black America, but for all America.”

The “all America” framing was consistent with the administration’s approach to identity-specific events: honoring the unique contributions of a particular community while situating that honor within a universal American story. Turner’s remarks acknowledged Black achievement and sacrifice while rejecting the idea that advocacy for Black Americans was separate from advocacy for all Americans.

Turner also acknowledged his fellow cabinet members present, including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Senator Tim Scott. “We look forward to working with you, sir, and carrying out this great agenda,” Turner told Trump. “We pray for you every day. God bless you. And thank you. God bless America."

"More in Four Weeks Than Most Achieve in Four Years”

Trump offered his standard first-month assessment with an addition tailored to the audience. “In four weeks, our new administration has achieved more than most administrations achieve in four years,” he said. “We brought our country back.”

He noted the calendar milestone: “Today is our fourth week. The end of the week. We start our fifth.”

Trump then drew the contrast with Biden: “And I think we’ve done more than four weeks — certainly more than the last administration did in four years. They actually went negative. They actually went in the wrong direction.”

He framed the event’s purpose in inclusive terms: “Together, we’re going to be fighting long and hard for Black Americans and all Americans. We’re going to be fighting for all Americans."

"1776, Not 1619”

The intellectual centerpiece of Trump’s remarks was a deliberate challenge to the historical framework that had been promoted during the Biden era.

“The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year: 1619,” Trump said. The reference was to the 1619 Project, developed by The New York Times, which argued that America’s true founding should be dated to 1619, when the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, rather than 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Biden administration had embraced elements of the 1619 framework through executive orders and educational initiatives.

“But under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date: 1776,” Trump continued.

The contrast was fundamental. The 1619 framework centered American history on slavery and racial injustice; the 1776 framework centered it on freedom and the founding principles that, over time, expanded to include all Americans. Trump was not denying the reality of slavery but arguing that Black Americans’ story was better understood as one of participation in — and ultimately triumph within — the American experiment rather than one of victimhood at its hands.

The Story of Prince Estabrook

Trump then illustrated the 1776 framework with a specific historical figure who embodied the point.

“In the very first skirmish of the Revolutionary War at Lexington Green, an enslaved Black man named Prince Estabrook fought as the Minutemen alongside the other patriots of a very small Massachusetts town,” Trump said.

He emphasized the significance: “Prince was wounded in the early morning battle, becoming not only the first African-American soldier to fight in the Revolution, but among the very first Americans to spill their blood. One of the first in the nation to spill blood in that very, very tough time.”

Trump concluded the story by connecting Estabrook’s military service to his own liberation. “Soon Estabrook joined the Continental Army and ultimately won his own freedom along with that of his fellow Americans,” Trump said. “His legacy will endure, and we’re very proud to honor him today.”

The Estabrook story was a powerful counter-narrative to the 1619 framework. Here was an enslaved man who did not wait for others to grant him freedom but fought for it alongside his fellow Americans at the very birth of the nation. His story was simultaneously one of oppression (he was enslaved) and agency (he chose to fight). It honored both the injustice of slavery and the courage of the individual who transcended it.

By choosing Estabrook as his example, Trump was making a specific argument about how to honor Black history: not through a lens of perpetual victimhood but through celebration of the Black Americans who, from the nation’s very first battle, chose to participate in the American project and, in doing so, helped create the country that would eventually fulfill its founding promise of liberty for all.

Key Takeaways

• Trump welcomed Tiger Woods to a White House Black History Month event, leading a “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” chant before Woods briefly addressed the crowd.
• He drew a sharp contrast with Biden, declaring: “The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year: 1619. Under our administration, we honor the immortal cause of another date: 1776.”
• Trump told the story of Prince Estabrook, an enslaved Black man who was among the first Americans wounded at Lexington Green and who “won his own freedom along with that of his fellow Americans” by joining the Continental Army.
• HUD Secretary Turner pledged to serve “not just Black America, but all America” and told Trump, “You can guarantee that every day I’m going to lay it down for the people of America.”
• Trump claimed his administration had “achieved more in four weeks than most administrations achieve in four years” and pledged to fight “for Black Americans and all Americans.”