President Donald Trump wasted little time celebrating after the Supreme Court upheld two state laws banning transgender athletes who identify as women from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams. Shortly after news of the landmark decision broke, Trump took to Truth Social to praise the ruling, calling it a major victory and one that aligns with a key issue from his 2024 presidential campaign. The ruling allows Idaho and West Virginia to continue enforcing laws that determine eligibility for female sports teams based on an athlete’s sex assigned at birth.
Donald Trump Quickly Reacted To The Supreme Court’s Decision
Following Monday’s ruling, Trump shared a celebratory message with his supporters on Truth Social. “BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.
Trump has long argued that transgender women should not be allowed to compete in female sports divisions, making the issue a central part of his political messaging in recent years.
During the 2024 election cycle, Trump repeatedly spoke out against transgender participation in women’s sports and gender-affirming care for minors. “The left-wing gender insanity being pushed at our children is an act of child abuse,” Trump said in a Truth Social video released during the campaign. “Very simple. Here’s my plan to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth.”
Trump Acted Out Weightlifting Scenario While Arguing Against Transgender Participation
More recently, he revisited the issue during remarks at a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
During the speech, which often resembled a campaign rally, Trump argued that opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports is overwhelmingly popular with voters, calling it a “99-1” issue politically. He also claimed first lady Melania Trump had urged him not to perform one of his now-familiar routines about the subject.
While discussing the debate, Trump launched into a lengthy story about a fictional female weightlifter attempting to break a long-standing record. “This young lady, she’s trying out for the Olympics, and she’s going to do it. And the record stood for 19 years,” Trump said before describing the athlete attempting a lift that would narrowly surpass the existing mark.
According to Trump, the athlete’s father doubted she could succeed “because she’s a woman,” while her mother encouraged her from the crowd.
The president then acted out the scene, shaking his arm and pretending to struggle under the weight as he portrayed the athlete unsuccessfully attempting the lift.
The Supreme Court Upheld Laws In Idaho And West Virginia
The cases before the Supreme Court centered on state laws passed in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams in public schools and colleges. Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was signed into law in 2020, while West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act followed in 2021.
Lower courts had previously blocked both laws, ruling that they potentially violated federal protections, including Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court’s decision allows the states to continue enforcing those restrictions.
Trump’s Supreme Court Victory Comes Amid Another A Major Legal Defeat
While Trump celebrated the ruling on transgender athletes, the victory came around the same time that the Supreme Court handed him a major defeat in a separate high-profile case.
On Tuesday, the justices rejected Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship through executive order, reaffirming that babies born on American soil are automatically U.S. citizens under more than a century of legal precedent.
The 6-3 ruling was a blow to Trump, who had argued that children born to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors should not automatically qualify for citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
Birthright Citizenship Ruling Marked A Rare Setback For Trump At The High Court
Trump had lobbied the Supreme Court to uphold the Day 1 order and even attended oral arguments in the case, making him the first sitting president to do so.
Immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups warned that ending birthright citizenship could impact hundreds of thousands of children born every year to non-citizen parents.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 255,000 children born annually to non-citizen parents would have lost legal status under Trump’s order, with some potentially facing the risk of being born effectively stateless.
The back-to-back rulings highlight the mixed legal landscape facing Trump, who celebrated a major cultural-policy win on transgender athletes while absorbing a significant defeat on one of his most controversial immigration proposals.