‘It’s such an easy question,’ the former president says.
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a Fox News-hosted town hall event that he would ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports through executive action.
The former president and GOP presidential candidate was asked by a voter about whether he plans to address transgender athletes in women’s athletics.
“It’s such an easy question, and everybody in the room … know[s] that answer, we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump responded.
Earlier this year, the Department of Education released rules changing Title IX, the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination by sex in education programs and schools that get federal money. The rules targeted discrimination based on gender identity for the first time, although they were struck down by the Supreme Court in August.
Pointing to a recent example, Trump made reference to a volleyball match with an athlete who “transitioned from man to female” and slammed the ball and “hit the girl in the head.” Trump was apparently referring to a video of San Jose State University’s Blaire Fleming spiking the ball into a female player’s face.
According to a legal complaint filed in federal court, one of San Jose State’s volleyball players is a male. Fleming had told Brooke Slusser, another member of the team, earlier this year that he was born male, according to a Sept. 23 filing. Slusser is one of the plaintiffs in the case.
“I never saw a ball hit so hard … hit the girl in the head. But other people … they’ve been really hurt badly. Women playing men,” Trump remarked.
Trump said that his administration will “stop it” because “it’s a man playing in the game.” He added, “Look at what’s happened in swimming. Look at the records that are being broken.”
Pressed by Faulker on what actions he might take, Trump said that “you just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen … not a big deal.”
Trump has said on multiple occasions during the 2024 campaign season that he would bar transgender individuals from competing against females if he is elected again.
