President Donald Trump at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, said people from Saudi Arabia think Americans are “crazy” for advocating for transgender athletes in women’s sports.
At the forum, hosted at the Kennedy Center, Trump described being shocked watching a congressman fighting for biological men playing in women’s sports, explaining a situation where a biological man broke a women’s weightlifting record.
“The man was 119 pounds higher than a woman champion, who was a phenomenal champion,” Trump said. “Beat her by 119, and he was an average lifter prior to transitioning. A lot of the Saudis are sitting here saying, ‘What the hell is he talking about — transitioning?'”
He went on to say, unlike the U.S., the Saudis “don’t do a lot of transitioning.”
“The Saudis are saying, ‘What is he talking about?,’” Trump said. “They’re saying, ‘What do you mean women are playing against men? No, that doesn’t happen, does it?’ Yeah, it does. These people are crazy.”
A group of 130 congressional Democrats recently filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging justices to rule in favor of Becky Pepper-Jackson, a trans teen from West Virginia who successfully challenged a state law barring biological males from competing in girls’ sports, and Lindsay Hecox, who successfully challenged an Idaho law to compete on Boise State’s women’s cross-country team.
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Lawmakers who signed onto the letter include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
A New York Times/Ipsos survey in January found most Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should compete against women in sports.
Of the 2,128 participants, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to compete against women, including 67% of those who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat.
Fox News Digital’s Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
