Donald Trump tells golfers to join LIV Golf and 'take the money now' despite pressure from 9/11 families

By Liam Reilly, Wayne Sterling and Ben Church, CNN

Updated 1321 GMT (2121 HKT) July 19, 2022

US President Donald Trump waves to well wishers at the 72nd US Women's Open Golf Championship at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, July 15, 2017.

(CNN)Former US President Donald Trump told golfers that they should join the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series and «take the money now,» as the breakaway series prepares for its next event at Trump National Golf Bedminster, New Jersey, from July 29-31.

«All of those golfers that remain 'loyal' to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big 'thank you' from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,» Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.«If you don't take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.»His comments come as families of 9/11 victims urged him to cancel the tournament, citing LIV Golf's Saudi backing, according to a letter sent to Trump Sunday.The allegations of Saudi government complicity with the attacks on September 11, 2001, have long been the subject of dispute in Washington. Fifteen of the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked four planes were Saudi nationals, but the Saudi government has denied any involvement in the attacks. Read MoreThe 9/11 Commission established by Congress said in 2004 that it had found «no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded» al Qaeda.Still, the victims' families have pushed for further disclosures, and last year, the FBI released a document that details their