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.
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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.”
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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.
Donald Trump has said he would try to return territory to Ukraine as he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin and lay the groundwork for a deal to bring an end to the war.
“Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory. We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” the US president said at a White House news conference ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska.
Mr Trump also said: “There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine.”
He said he’s going to see what Mr Putin “has in mind” to end the three-and-a-half-year full-scale invasion.
Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters
And he said if it’s a “fair deal,” he will share it with European and NATO leaders, as well as Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who have been liaising closely with Washington ahead of the meeting.
Asked if Mr Zelenskyy was invited to the summit with Mr Putin in Alaska, Mr Trump said the Ukrainian leader “wasn’t a part of it”.
“I would say he could go, but he’s gone to a lot of meetings. You know, he’s been there for three and a half years – nothing happened,” Mr Trump added.
The US president said Mr Putin wants to get the war “over with” and “get involved” in possible talks but acknowledged Moscow’s attacks haven’t stopped.
“I’ve said that a few times and I’ve been disappointed because I’d have a great call with him and then missiles would be lobbed into Kyiv or some other place,” he said.
Mr Trump said he will tell Mr Putin “you’ve got to end this war, you’ve got to end it,” but that “it’s not up to me” to make a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska. Pic: Reuters
Zelenskyy says Russia ‘wants to buy time’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia “wants to buy time, not end the war”.
“It is obvious that the Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war,” he wrote in a post on X, after a phone call with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters
“The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly.”
Mr Zelenskyy said the two “agreed that no decisions concerning Ukraine’s future and the security of our people can be made without Ukraine’s participation”, just as “there can be no decisions without clear security guarantees”.
Sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be “constantly strengthened,” he added.
European leaders meet ahead of call with Trump
Meanwhile, European officials have been holding meetings ahead of a phone call with Mr Trump on Wednesday.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has been speaking to foreign ministers virtually, saying on X that work “on more sanctions against Russia, more military support for Ukraine and more support for Ukraine’s budgetary needs and accession process to join the EU” is under way.
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‘Russians want to carry on fighting’
Over the weekend, European leaders released a joint statement, welcoming Mr Trump’s “work to stop the killing in Ukraine”.
“We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed,” read the statement.
It was signed by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We underline our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” they said.
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Attacks continue
Despite Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Vladimir Putin to commit to a ceasefire and negotiations, Russian attacks on Ukraine have only intensified in the past few months.
Ukraine’s president has said that, in the past week, Russia launched more than 1,000 air bombs, nearly 1,400 drones and multiple missile strikes on Ukraine.
On 9 July, Russia carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching more than 740 drones and missiles, breaking its records from previous weeks.
Furthermore, Mr Zelenskyy has said Russia is preparing for new offensives.
And then there were two.
It will be a Trump-Putin bilateral summit in Alaska.
Ukraine latest: Trump details talks with Putin
The US president has ruled out a trilateral meeting including Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is framing the talks as low stakes.
He described it as a “feel out” meeting “to see what the parameters” are, and stressed “it’s not up to me to make a deal.”
A strategic preemption perhaps, setting expectations low, and preparing the public for failure.
But he remains wedded to the notion that “land swapping” will shape any deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“Good stuff” and “bad stuff” for both sides, he said, positioning himself as the pragmatic mediator between the two.
He expressed irritation with Mr Zelenskyy’s assertion that he doesn’t have the constitutional power to concede land, though did say he hopes to get “prime territory” back for Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be attending the summit. Pic: AP
The dealmaker-in-chief
Mr Trump promised to brief the Ukrainian president and European leaders immediately after his meeting with Mr Putin.
And he voiced confidence in his ability to quickly assess the potential for a deal, boasting his business acumen.
“At the end of the meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said.
Asked how he would know, he replied: “That’s what I do, make deals.”
Members of his cabinet nodded in approval.
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Putin ‘wants war to be over’
A law-and-order crackdown in the US capital seems timed to bolster his diplomatic stance.
He branded crime in Washington “a national emergency”, took federal control of police and deployed the National Guard.
It may seem strange that Mr Trump is talking about “taking back” Washington, ahead of a rare summit with Mr Putin.
But he’s positioning himself as bold and uncompromising before he faces a man deemed bold and uncompromising.
A telling gaffe
And he conflated the two, saying: “This is a tragic emergency, and I’m going to see Putin, I’m going to Russia on Friday.”
He isn’t going to Russia. He’s going to Alaska. But that gaffe revealed how central Mr Putin is to his narrative, even domestically.
Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to meet his Ukrainian counterpart. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
Mr Putin wants to lock in the gains Russia has made since invading Ukraine, while Mr Trump presses for a ceasefire.
But it’s hard to envisage any ice-breaking peace deal emerging from Friday’s summit in Alaska.
How could there be when Mr Zelenskyy is out in the cold?
For now, this is a Trump-Putin power play.
Donald Trump has announced he is going to deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to make the US capital’s streets safer.
At a White House news conference on Monday, the president said the city’s police would come under federal control as he said the murder rate in DC was “higher than” in some of the “worst places on earth”.
He said he was sending in the troops to “re-establish law, order, and public safety”.
Members of the National Guard outside the US Capitol. File Pic: AP
Mr Trump said he was announcing a “historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.
“This is liberation day in DC and we are going to take our capital back.”
The president continued: “So today we are declaring a public safety emergency in the district of Columbia.”
He added it is not just about safety but also the “beautification” of the city.
“Washington DC should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world and we’re going to make it that.”
Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed”.
A member of the National Guard patrols the area outside of the US Capitol in 2021.
File pic: AP
On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the US Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.
National Guard troops usually belong to individual states and personnel in many cases are trained to help with emergencies that those states have to deal with, such as natural disasters.
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Since they are the reserve force of the US military, National Guard troops are usually part-time, meaning that they have other jobs as well.
Minority leader of the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, responded to Mr Trump’s announcement on Monday with a post on X which read: “Violent crime in Washington, DC is at a thirty-year low.
“Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order.
“Get lost.”
In a social media post on Sunday, Mr Trump emphasised the removal of Washington’s homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go.
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“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Mr Trump wrote.
“We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”
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