Trump’s Remarks on Transgender Athletes Target Mamdani

President Donald Trump has once more voiced his disapproval of transgender athletes, particularly focusing on those in weightlifting. This time, however, he has taken aim at Zoran Mamdani, the incoming mayor of New York City.

While speaking at the American Business Forum in Miami, Trump claimed it was “over” for men to compete in women’s sports. He mentioned an incident from “the other day” where “a guy” won a lengthy race by a significant margin—5 hours and 18 seconds to be exact.

Trump continued, “What about weightlifting? A woman’s 218 pounds is quite significant. Someone broke the record, which had stood for about 17 years, by 100 pounds. He wasn’t successful as a male weightlifter but excelled as a woman,” Trump said, trying to mimic a weightlifter. “People are crazy.”

Then, he threw criticism at Mamdani: “This guy, whatever his name is, thinks it’s great for men to play in women’s sports.”

It remains uncertain which race or weightlifting events Trump was referring to. Mamdani has yet to publicly address the topic of transgender athletes in women’s sports, and a representative did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Additionally, Trump seemed to reference an incident involving the University of Pennsylvania, where transgender swimmer Leah Thomas had her women’s record stripped earlier this year. He remarked that swimming records are being reset, noting that many of them belong where they originally were, I guess, perhaps.

This isn’t the first time Trump has opposed trans weightlifters; earlier this year, he staged a reenactment of a woman losing to a trans competitor during a speech at the University of Alabama. It’s a recurring theme for him.

Mamdani, who is set to take office in January, succeeded in defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in the recent elections.