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.

Published on: Jan 6, 2026, 23:53:28 IST

By Shuvrajit Das Biswas

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

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.

President Donald Trump walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat. (AP)

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.

Also Read | Is Trump’s advice on avoiding Tylenol scientifically backed? Here's what medical organizations say

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.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

Stay updated with US News covering politics, crime, weather, local events, and sports highlights. Get the latest on Donald Trump and American politics along with Horoscope 2026.