www.nbcnews.com
Trump promises to ban transgender women from sports if re-elected
Former President Donald Trump said he would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports nationwide if he were re-elected president.
Politics
Former President Donald Trump said he would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports nationwide if he were re-elected president.
“We will ban men from participating in women’s sports,” Trump said during a rally in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday. “So ridiculous.”
He then criticized Lia Thomas, the trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer who sparked international debate last month after she broke multiple records at a meet in Ohio. Trump misgendered Thomas, referring to her by the wrong pronouns, and then falsely stated that Thomas broke an 11-year-old swimming record by 38 seconds.
In reality, Thomas won the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Zippy Invitational in Ohio by 38 seconds, but she didn't set a record in that event. She broke school and Ivy League records in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle by smaller margins of a couple of seconds. Outsports reported that the distance by which Thomas won the race is the longest in the NCAA, but the race takes more than 15 minutes for women to complete.
Trump also claimed that a trans woman, whom he didn’t name, broke a 20-year record in weightlifting. It is unclear if this claim is true.
Trump’s language mirrored that of conservative officials in many states over the last few years. Last year, more than 30 states considered bills that would ban transgender student-athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Ten states have enacted such measures. So far this year, 17 states are considering similar bills.
Trump has previously denounced trans-inclusive sports teams. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, last year, Trump called trans female athletes “biological males,” using a term most trans people find offensive.
“Young girls and women are incensed that they are now being forced to compete against those who are biological males,” Trump said. “It’s not good for women. It’s not good for women’s sports, which worked for so long and so hard to get to where they are.”
He later added, “If this does not change, women’s sports as we know it will die.”