Overview

• President Trump hosted Juventus in the Oval Office on June 18 for the Club World Cup and steered the 16-minute visit toward contentious topics.
• His interrogation of the players on transgender women in sports came after his February executive order banning such participants and a Supreme Court ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
• Trump asked “Could a woman make your team, fellas?” and pressed general manager Damien Comolli on whether transgender athletes should be confined to women’s teams.
• The president also digressed into the US Civil War and escalating Middle East tensions and incorrectly claimed Juventus’s match was sold out despite nearly 2,000 empty seats.
• Juventus winger Timothy Weah later described the session as “weird,” saying he was caught off guard by the unexpected political focus.