What does Donald Trump’s second presidency mean for the world of sport?
It’s the craze that spread from NFL fields to the UFC octagon and, in football, from the US national team to Barnsley.
An endearing imitation of Donald Trump‘s interpretation of a YMCA dance adopted from the rally stages.
Christian Pulisic – American soccer’s poster boy – called it “fun” rather than political, after adopting the alternate fist-pumping move to celebrate scoring following the presidential election in November.
But its popularity signals that associating with the returning president is now far from taboo in the sports world, after the snubs of the first term.
Donald Trump dancing with The Village People at a rally before his inauguration. Pic: AP
That will be welcome news for President Trump as sport is far from a sideshow this time around and instead, central to his agenda and projection on the world stage.
There was a constant campaign pledge to ban transgender athletes from single-gender sport – reasserted in the splendour of an inauguration ball on Monday night.
The run-up to the election also saw Trump use mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a route to attracting male voters. And World Wrestling Entertainment’s former boss even has the education brief in his cabinet.
Beyond the political, sport has a personal appeal to Trump too.
Golf has never just been a respite from politics or business, but a lucrative venture if he keeps Saudi Arabia sweet – with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund bringing its breakaway series to his courses.
Then there’s the prestige of being in office to host the men’s World Cup and Summer Olympics.
UFC boss Dana White with Trump at an election night watch party. Pic: AP
For once, Trump could see the benefit of losing in 2020 – enabling him to be a rare leader of a nation during the two biggest sporting shows on the planet – while still making false claims at the Capitol this week about that “rigged” election.
When the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, Alexi Lalas was the icon of the national team with his distinctive unruly red hair and beard.
Early to join the MAGA movement, he has seen a shift from those who once approached him in “hushed tones” while travelling the country.
“I think that many people got to a point where they were sick and tired of hiding what they felt was common sense,” Lalas told Sky News.
“It made me sad that they felt the pressure and that they were ultimately scared to express that.”
Alexi Lalas. Pic: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
There can be a backlash from those not expecting such a strident right-leaning approach from the player they might remember as a “90s grunge hippie type”.
“I have lost friends because of it,” said the Fox Sports commentator who was in Washington for the presidential parties. “There are people that view me differently than they did before because now they know my political affiliation.
“I’m not going to apologise for it. I believe that I’m a good person, that I want good things.”
The World Cup will be unprecedented. Not just being the largest with 48 teams, but bringing an influx of millions of sports fans, unlike anything seen in the country before.
“[Trump] recognises the power and the draw of sports and being associated with that,” Lalas said.
How will pledges to FIFA to allow ticket-holding fans entry collide with a clampdown on immigration? An early test will be when the new men’s Club World Cup is used as a test event this summer.
Alexi Lalas during his playing career in the late ’90s. Pic: Reuters
Inside Trump’s alliance with FIFA boss Infantino
It’s a platform not just for the players, but for the Trump-Gianni Infantino alliance to dominate.
Few have ingratiated themselves with Trump like the FIFA leader. Public displays of loyalty through the scandals of the first term were rewarded with a prime spot at the inauguration, just behind the president and his predecessors on Monday.
The boss of a global football governing body that promotes non-discrimination listened to – but not always obviously applauding – an address that vowed to eliminate diversity and inclusion programmes, and only recognise male and female genders.
Read more:
List of executive orders signed by Trump
President rebuked by bishop
Infantino gifted Trump a USA football shirt in the Oval Office during his first presidency. Pic: Reuters
This is a country with plans to bid again for the Women’s World Cup, which for the first time in 2023 featured a transgender and non-binary player – Canada’s Quinn.
Shutting trans women out of women’s sport was on Trump’s mind before, and after, taking the oath of office. His go-to topic for rally speeches is now high on the Oval Office agenda.
The vow to protect the fairness of women’s sport is perhaps persuading female athletes with rival loyalties to at least consider backing the Republican.
“This was a very decisive issue for many women like me, who consider themselves largely Democrat and have been their entire lives,” cyclist Evie Edwards, part of the ICONS advocacy group, told Sky News.
“It’s been very, very difficult over the last five years to get voices heard.
“The fact that they’re just now being heard, the fact that President Trump announced this on day one in office, is extremely encouraging for the majority of us.
“Regardless, if your party affiliation is Republican or Democrat, it’s an extremely important, necessary step.”
👉 Tap here to follow Trump 100 wherever you get your podcasts 👈
How do trans athletes feel about Trump?
To the marginalised trans athlete community, facing discrimination in wider society, there is a feeling of being targeted for political gain and excluded from the sports they love.
Trans male wrestler Mack Beggs is troubled by the constant misgendering of Paris 2024 women’s boxing champion Imane Khelif by Trump, in campaign speeches based on disputed gender eligibility tests on the Algerian.
“Overall [Trump is] going to use anything that he can to exploit any little thing when it comes to those major events,” Beggs told Sky News. “I think that using Imane as a pawn and a tool in order to elevate that conversation and fan irrational fear of trans athletes being in sports is kind of a little pathetic.”
And it is about more than just having the chance to compete.
Canada’s Quinn during training. Pic: Reuters
“The majority of my community is scared because it’s not just about the sports,” said Beggs, who still dreams of fighting one day in the Trump-loving UFC. “It’s about overall our rights being taken away as a whole.
“We start with sports and that’s going to go on to the medical bills as well.”
And Trump has rapidly shut down government accessibility initiatives – contradicting the societal change promoted by the Paralympics which come to LA in 2028.
But will anyone in sport stand up to Trump if inflammatory rhetoric and meddling risks overshadowing sports? Trump called Paris 2024 a “disgrace” over the opening ceremony depiction of the Last Supper, fuelling an Olympic culture war.
Sebastian Coe could be running the Olympics by the time of Los Angeles 2028 if he wins the IOC presidential election in March.
“I’m not entirely unused to dealing with politicians,” Lord Coe, a former Conservative MP, told Sky News. “I understand the language. I understand the pressures. It’s a landscape I’m comfortable in. But sport has to maintain its independence and its autonomy.”
In a Trump world that is not always possible – as the campaign trail and his first two days in office have made clear. And not every sports leader wants to maintain their independence, seduced by the entry into the orbit of real global power.
US
America will not put up with it for much longer!’: Donald Trump hits out at Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy once again
A state of emergency has been declared in South Carolina as wildfires caused by dry and gusty conditions have forced people to evacuate some areas.
More than 175 fires covered 6.6 square miles in the state on Sunday as the National Weather Service warned of an increased risk of blazes in the region.
The number of fires was down to 163 by early Monday, the state’s forestry commission said.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort and a state-wide burning ban is in effect.
People in eight neighbourhoods were forced to evacuate as several fires raged in the state’s Horry County, officials said.
Soldiers used two Blackhawk helicopters to drop water 600 gallons at a time on the blazes, the South Carolina National Guard said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, firefighters made progress containing a fire in Carolina Forest, where people had been ordered to evacuate several neighbourhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue.
Footage showed some people running down the street as smoke filled the sky.
However, Horry County Fire Rescue announced by late Sunday that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home.
The Red Cross of South Carolina said approximately 135 Carolina Forest residents had taken shelter in a county recreation centre.
Smoke is seen rising from fires in Horry County. Pic: AP/Horry County Fire Rescue
The fire in the area had burned 2.5 square miles as of Sunday evening, the South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated.
No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said.
It came as fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests across North Carolina.
The largest covered around 0.6 square miles and burned in Uwharrie National Forest – about 50 miles east of Charlotte.
The North Carolina Forest Service said on Sunday that it had been made progress on the fire, reaching about one-third containment.
People flee an area in Myrtle Beach. Pic: AP
The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, had urged some residents to evacuate on Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there.
The evacuations remained in effect on Sunday.
A decision on whether to lift the evacuation orders was expected to be made on Monday after intentional burns are set to try to stop the fire from spreading.
That fire had burned about 0.8 square miles as of Sunday evening, with 0% containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management and Fire Marshal’s office.
Read more US news:
Crypto prices rally after Trump announcement
US speaker says Zelenskyy might need to resign
New York Dolls singer dies
A helicopter drops water to help contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area. Pic: AP
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and back-burning operations on the ground and residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said.
It comes as at least six active fires were burning in Georgia on Sunday, with nearly 5.8 miles burned in a seven-day span that brought the region gusty winds and low humidity, according to a Georgia Forestry Commission fire summary.
Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.
The dry and gusty conditions fuelling the fires are expected to fade as a cold front pushes out the dry air mass over the southeast of the US and brings rain by Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
The convergence of warmth, dry air and gusty winds is not inconsistent with the season’s La Niña weather phenomenon, which is associated with warmer, drier winters in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University.
The blazes come after two wildfires in Los Angeles killed 29 people and scorched thousands of acres across 24 days.
More than 18,000 structures were damaged or destroyed in the deadly Eaton and Palisades blazes, which swept across California in January.
Cryptocurrency prices have jumped after Donald Trump revealed he would like Bitcoin and other lesser-traded tokens to be in a new US strategic crypto reserve.
He said his January executive order on digital assets would create a stockpile of currencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano (ADA).
The names had not previously been announced.
The American president said in a post on Truth Social: “A US Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA.”
“I will make sure the US is the Crypto Capital of the World.”
“And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve,” he said in a follow-up post. “I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose over 11% to $94,164 after Sunday’s announcement.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was up around 13% at $2,516.
XRP surged 33% while the token tied to Solana jumped 25%. Cardano’s coin soared more than 60%.
Bitcoin was trading up around 20% from last week’s lows.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on cryptocurrencies in January. Pic: Reuters
The total cryptocurrency market rose about 10%, or more than $300bn (£238bn), in the hours since the announcement, according to cryptocurrency data and analysis company CoinGecko.
This is the first time Mr Trump has specified his support for a crypto “reserve” rather than a “stockpile”. While the former assumes actively buying crypto in regular installments, a stockpile would not sell any of the crypto currently held by the US government.
Mr Trump is hosting the first White House Crypto Summit on Friday, and investors will be watching closely for more clues about the direction of the reserve plans.
His family have also launched their own coins, including his wife Melania.
Read more from Sky News:
TikTok and Reddit investigated over use of children’s data
Second privately funded spacecraft touches down on moon
Mr Trump first introduced the idea of a Bitcoin stockpile, which would “keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future” last summer at major industry conference Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville.
After his re-election to the White House in November, there were more calls for a strategic Bitcoin reserve, helping to send the price of the flagship cryptocurrency to new all-time highs.
Under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, regulators cracked down on the industry in an attempt to protect Americans from fraud and money laundering.
Under Mr Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission has withdrawn investigations into several crypto companies and dropped a lawsuit against Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US.
But in recent weeks, crypto prices have fallen sharply, with some of the biggest digital currencies erasing nearly all of the gains made after Mr Trump’s election win triggered excitement across the industry.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway