The UCLA women’s basketball team were asked if Donald Trump had congratulated them on their NCAA title, but their answer exposed a surprising divide

After the Olympics men’s hockey team locker room controversy, President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be making headlines often in the sports world. However, a recent event involving the UCLA women’s basketball team might once again put the president under scrutiny. Like the men’s NCAA basketball team, the women’s squad has also won a championship, but Trump, who also welcomed Iran in FIFA World Cup, hasn’t congratulated them yet.

As reported by the People, the NCAA title-winning women’s squad appeared as guests in a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! The members included Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalic and Lauren Betts, along with their head coach Cori Close. They didn’t directly complain about the president, as it was an answer to the host’s question.

The team was being interviewed after their solid performance that led to an impressive NCAA title. Then Jimmy Kimmel dropped a question about Trump: whether he had congratulated the team. In a response, Kiki replied, “We have not.” While it may raise eyebrows of some, this conversation seems to be Kimmel’s casual take on the president, which he often does in his show.

Even Obama praised the women, but it looks like Trump has been silent after congratulating the men’s basketball team

The former president of the United States, Barack Obama, initially doubted the women’s team would win the final game. On the show, Kimmel reminded the team of this, to which the coach said, “Everybody makes mistakes.” Obama wasn’t limited to this prediction; after their impressive NCAA championship, he congratulated the women’s squad, and evened his odds.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, remains silent. Speaking of silence, the president broke it with an official message on the White House website for Michigan and UConn’s men’s basketball team before the final. The message was congratulatory for “these incredible players and coaches reaching the College Basketball National Championship.” Coming back to the women’s team, Trump hasn’t shared his views on their win yet.

Apart from the president, it’s not like the rest of the audience is silent about the team’s strong performance. According to the source, they have made multiple appearances at different places to be honoured. The coach, Close, was invited to the Today show so she and her team could be praised over their 2026 win. Similarly, during the recent Los Angeles Lakers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the women’s basketball team was there as special guests.

Following an impressive 2026 season, the team left no stone unturned in the title game. They won with a noteworthy gap of 79-51 against the heavily favored South Carolina Gamecocks. Such performance is indeed praiseworthy, but Trump’s silence seems odd, given that he did speak for the men’s team despite being busy with the ongoing war.