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Trump's imitation of trans-athletes in speech to House GOP members sparks backlash; 'first president to...
President Donald Trump imitated trans-athletes and said that his wife, Melania, hated it when he did it.
President Donald Trump imitated trans-athletes and revealed that his wife, Melania, hated it when he did that. Trump was delivering remarks to the House Republican member retreat at the Kennedy Center, when he made the imitation, which quickly went viral online.
The Trump administration's Rapid Response 47 account posted the video, writing, “POTUS on his imitation of ‘trans athletes’ in women's sports: ‘My wife HATES when I do this’.”
In the video, Trump pretends to hold up weights, while making a face. He then shared that his wife told him it was ‘unpresidential’, to which he quipped that he ‘did become president.’ After speaking about his dancing, Trump went on to make a face while imitating weight-lifting.
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He imitated a female weight-lifter and her struggles, and then imitated a trans-athlete. ‘It’s crazy,' the president said at the end of the snippet being shared online.
Trump's imitation draws backlash
Trump's imitation was met with backlash from many online. “The joke is on Americans,” one person remarked. Another added, “First president to make live memes.”
Yet another person said, “Melania respects the office.”
This is not the first time Trump has imitated trans-athletes. In 2025, when he was speaking at the University of Alabama commencement event, he did a grunting impression of a female weightlifter while criticizing the participation of transgender women in sports.
At the time too, Trump had noted that Melania did not like him doing the imitation, and had hinted that he'd get in trouble when he returned home from the event. The president feels strongly about the issue of trans-athletes, and in Feb 2025 came out with the presidential action titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.’
The action seeks to ‘protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.’
