Former President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday to keep trans-identifying men out of women’s sports if elected this November.
The moment came during a Fox News town hall with Georgia women voters moderated by Harris Faulkner, host of “The Faulkner Focus.” Trump was asked by an audience member named Linda about how he would approach the issue of men identifying as women competing in women’s sports leagues. The Georgia resident said she has nine grandchildren, six of whom are girls and play sports.
“We’re not gonna let it happen,” Trump said. “We absolutely stop it. You can’t have it. It’s a man playing in the game [against women].”
The former president noted the biological and physical advantages men have over women. He also cited a recent incident of a male competing against female athletes.
Trump is seemingly referencing a video shared on social media of a San Jose State University volleyball player who goes by the name Blaire Fleming — a trans-identifying male — spiking the ball into the face of his female opponent. According to the New York Post, the video showed San Diego State University junior Keira Herron “was knocked down after the hit, and the crowd audibly gasped.”
Female volleyball players whose teams are scheduled to play San Jose State have forfeited their matches in protest of Fleming being allowed to compete against women. On Monday, the University of Nevada volleyball team revealed to Outkick that it’s joining the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University in forfeiting its upcoming match against San Jose State.
“We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” the team’s statement reads.
The University of Nevada released its own statement that same day, saying the school will “move forward with the match as scheduled,” but that “the players may choose not to participate in the match on the day of the contest.”
When pressed by Faulkner on how he intends to fulfill his pledge to keep female-identifying men out of women’s sports, Trump said he would “just ban it,” but didn’t specify how.
Since coming into office, the Biden-Harris administration has all but declared war on women seeking safe locker rooms and fairness in sports.
In May 2023, for example, the Education Department proposed new Title IX rules that seek to prohibit schools receiving federal funds from enforcing policies preventing men from competing in women’s sports. As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd reported, the proposal is designed to kneecap legislation passed by more than 20 states that protects female spaces “on and off the field,” meaning women’s sports and locker rooms would be available to female-identifying men.
Several federal courts have placed injunctions on the rules prohibiting their enforcement.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
Comments are closed.