The former US president said it was ‘disrespectful to women’ to allow ‘men’ to play their sports
Trump spoke out on sporting topics. © Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Former US President Donald Trump has said he ignored his political consultants’ advice this week by criticizing trans athletes as part of a lengthy tirade in Washington DC.
Speaking at an America First Agenda Summit, Trump embarked on his diatribe by saying: “By the way, we should not allow men to play women’s sports. It’s so disrespectful to women,” which was met with hearty applause.
“[It’s just] so crazy,” Trump went on. “It just shows you what all of these political geniuses – I have all of these consultants, all these great, great – ‘Sir, don’t say that it’s very controversial,'” he trailed off.
“I just said it, thought it might be a good time,” Trump remarked, noting that his comment earned him his “biggest hand” of the whole evening.
In another widely-shared part of his appearance that has gone viral, Trump proposed that he would be “the greatest women’s basketball coach in history” if he could convince LA Lakers icon LeBron James to run out on court for him.
“I don’t like LeBron James – I like Michael Jordan much better,” Trump noted.
“But I’d go up to LeBron James … [and] I’d say, ‘LeBron, did you ever have any desire to be a woman?’ Because what I’d love you to do is star on my team that I’m building.”
“I will have the greatest team in history, they’ll never lose. Nobody will come within 70 points of this team,” Trump boasted.
Donald Trump says he would ask LeBron James If he has any desire to be a woman so he could star on his women's basketball team 😳 pic.twitter.com/omHO408mgw
— No Jumper (@nojumper) July 27, 2022
Trump is also said to have referred to New Zealand trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who previously competed on the Ivy League college’s men’s team but broke a series of records on its women’s team last season, without mentioning them directly.
At one point, Trump mocked trans weightlifters too by pretending that he was incapable of lifting any weights.
Elsewhere in sports, Trump is currently the topic of conversation in golf where his course in Bedminster, New Jersey – which was previously deprived of hosting the PGA Championship due to the Capitol riots in January 2021 – will receive an event from the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Invitational Series.
Trump has urged potential rebel golfers to take the cash from the breakaway league and refrain from showing loyalty to the “very disloyal” PGA that some high-profile stars have already fled to join the LIV.
Also this week, Trump and his wife Melania attended a star-studded LIV Golf welcome party in New York where famous 2000s rapper Nelly performed and Trump met with the rebel golfers such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau plus their significant others.
For joining the LIV, players have had their PGA membership ripped up and will not be able to represent the United States at the Ryder Cup next year akin to Swede Henrik Stenson who has been stripped of the European captaincy for taking a reported £40 million ($48.5 million) signing-on fee from the LIV.
On the eve of the next LIV event at Trump’s course, a 9/11 victims group has again laid into Trump and accused him of “dishonoring America” and being an “utter disgrace” for entertaining the competition.
“We’re just absolutely appalled by this decision. We’re really upset and frustrated,” said Brett Eagleson, the president of 9/11 Justice and the son of John Bruce Eagleson who was killed in South Tower at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, to the Daily Mail.
Trump admitted openly to CNN: “I made a deal with them” and called the Saudis “very good people”.
“They’re very fine people,” Trump further claimed.
“[LIV CEO] Greg Norman’s been a total gentleman, you know, and he’s wanted to do this for years and now he has the right backers because, you know, [the Saudi money] is unlimited.
“They can do the job right. I think when you put up first-place prize money for $6 or $7 million, I think a lot of people are gonna be showing up, to be honest with you,” Trump predicted.
The next LIV Golf invitational will take place at Bedminster from July 29 to July 31 while contested by a total of 48 players vying for $25 million in prize money.
