Bush said this in 2008, but it was in response to this question:
Q Mr. President, you haven’t been golfing in recent years. Is that related to Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it really is. I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the Commander-in-Chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.
Q Mr. President, was there a particular moment or incident that brought you to that decision, or how did you come to that?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man’s life. And I was playing golf -- I think I was in central Texas -- and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it’s just not worth it anymore to do.
This is in reference to the 19 August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing. To that date, the Iraq War (launched 20 March 2003) had been going on for about five months.
It's not hard to check something like this before you say it.