Involvement of President Donald Trump in sports these days seems to end up in headlines for all the wrong reasons. Previously, he congratulated men, but the women’s NCAA basketball team said that the president appeared silent when they won the title. Now, Trump is making headlines again after being sarcastic with a little girl who was just enthusiastically sharing how passionate she is for volleyball.
Many could be offended, as the president’s joke seemed to question the young girl’s physical ability when she said she plays volleyball. As reported by the Daily Mail, this happened when a group of children, along with golf legend Gary Player, visited Trump as he was replacing Michelle Obama’s student health program with a fitness test. During their visit, Trump asked the child, “What do you play?”
In response, the little girl shared her athletic journey with a smile, saying, “I play volleyball, and in the summer, I’m trying to get into soccer.” The president then replied to her answer with a “Wow,” then shifted the conversation towards the little one’s height, “and with your height, do you smash the ball, the volleyball?” The girl, who may have felt demotivated due to the president’s remarks, said, “No.” Though their conversation continued.
Donald Trump then suggested soccer to the little girl
When the girl declined that she couldn’t smash the ball, Trump asked, “Can you jump high?” To which she said, “Not very,” then the president gave her some advice about playing another sport, “Soccer might be better.” This conversation between Donald Trump and a kid has been making headlines lately. While this seems like he was just having a casual conversation and being sarcastic, many may take it as the president crushing her athletic dreams.
Later in the conversation, Trump also weighed in on the politics of transgender athletes in women’s sports when a boy shared his interest in weight lifting. Afterwards, the president sarcastically mentioned his physique as well. He said, “I work out so much,’ he said. ‘Like, about one minute a day, max. If I’m lucky.” This seems to suggest that Trump was in a fun mood that day and joked about himself as well.
Apart from this, the president has also spoken about other sports. Recently, he showed his concern about Patrick Mahomes’ injury. As someone who is still recovering from his 2025 season-ending injury, Trump ended up asking the Kansas City Slap’s BBQ owners about him at a White House Small Business Summit. He showed his concern with, “How is Mahomes doing?” Then added, “You tell the people of (Kansas City) we love him. He’s going to be OK. I hate to see that. He’s a fantastic guy.”
Returning to the little girl, Donald Trump has not spoken on the matter since this interaction.
Published: May 6, 2026 12:00 pm