I’ve been in lots of trouble before,” the president told a crowd of students at the University of Alabama
- Donald Trump told graduating students during a speech at the University of Alabama this week that he’d be “in trouble when I get home” before he impersonated an apparent transgender athlete
- Trump, 78, told the crowd that his wife, Melania, said it isn’t “presidential” when he does certain impressions
- The president later claimed during his speech that he aimed to “protect women” and “everybody”
Donald Trump told a crowd of college graduates this week that his wife, Melania Trump, “gets very upset” when he does certain impressions — moments before launching into an impression of an apparent transgender athlete.
On Thursday, May 1, the 78-year-old president spoke to soon-to-be graduating students at the University of Alabama at the school’s Coleman Coliseum ahead of graduation ceremonies, as he gave them advice before incorporating his own rhetoric on trans athletes in collegiate sports.
“You see the weightlifting? Where they had a record that wasn’t broken in 18 years. And they have — should I imitate it? You know, my wife gets very upset when I do this,” Trump said during his speech streamed by the White House. “She says, ‘Darling, it’s not presidential.’ I say, ‘Yeah, but people like it.’ Should I do it or not?”
As some in the audience cheered, the president said, “Alright, I’m in trouble when I get home. But that’s OK, what the hell. I’ve been in lots of trouble before.”
Trump then pretended to be a transgender athlete lifting weights and trying to surpass a record that “stood for 18 years,” as he winced and proclaimed, “Mom, I’m gonna do it for you.” He then pretended to toss his “weights” to the side. “And then a guy comes along, or a gal or whatever,” Trump says. “A transitioned person comes along. And [she] was a failed weight lifter as a man. But [she] comes along, 206 pounds, they put the little [weight] on, and [she] goes boom, boom.”
The president later claimed that the unnamed athlete broke the record, before he launched into asides about swimming, track and told the crowd that he aimed to “protect women” and “everybody.”
According to a recap from the Associated Press, Trump’s speech also included claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” and that courts were trying to prevent his campaign promises. As the outlet reports, students had the option of attending the speech, which was billed as a special event ahead of graduation ceremonies that begin Friday, although Trump described it as a commencement address.
The speech comes months after Trump signed a Feb. 5 executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
Months earlier, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel in December that he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes competing in college sports of the roughly 510,000 student athletes at the time, as reported by The Hill.
A counter rally, hosted by the school’s College Democrats, took place in a nearby park and featured appearances by Texas’ Beto O’Rourke and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama. “You are here today because you’re concerned, you’re afraid. You understand that this country’s great democracy is teetering right now with what we’re seeing going on,” Jones said, per the AP.
Prior to the event, 22-year-old advertising major Emily Appel told the AP that Trump’s appearance was “a cherry on top” of her college experience, while Aidan Meyers, a 21-year-old junior, said that he felt “betrayed” by the school’s decision to bring in Trump.
“I felt betrayed that the university was willing to put up with someone who has made it clear that they hate academia, essentially holding funding above universities’ heads as a bargaining chip, unless they bow down to what he wants, which is kind of a hallmark sign of a fascist regime,” he said.