It’s the craze that spread from NFL fields to the UFC octagon and, in football, from the US national team to Barnsley.
An endearing imitation of Donald Trump‘s interpretation of a YMCA dance adopted from the rally stages.
Christian Pulisic – American soccer’s poster boy – called it “fun” rather than political, after adopting the alternate fist-pumping move to celebrate scoring following the presidential election in November.
But its popularity signals that associating with the returning president is now far from taboo in the sports world, after the snubs of the first term.
That will be welcome news for President Trump as sport is far from a sideshow this time around and instead, central to his agenda and projection on the world stage.
There was a constant campaign pledge to ban transgender athletes from single-gender sport – reasserted in the splendour of an inauguration ball on Monday night.
The run-up to the election also saw Trump use mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a route to attracting male voters. And World Wrestling Entertainment’s former boss even has the education brief in his cabinet.
Beyond the political, sport has a personal appeal to Trump too.
Golf has never just been a respite from politics or business, but a lucrative venture if he keeps Saudi Arabia sweet – with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund bringing its breakaway series to his courses.
Then there’s the prestige of being in office to host the men’s World Cup and Summer Olympics.
UFC boss Dana White with Trump at an election night watch party. Pic: AP
For once, Trump could see the benefit of losing in 2020 – enabling him to be a rare leader of a nation during the two biggest sporting shows on the planet – while still making false claims at the Capitol this week about that “rigged” election.
When the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, Alexi Lalas was the icon of the national team with his distinctive unruly red hair and beard.
Early to join the MAGA movement, he has seen a shift from those who once approached him in “hushed tones” while travelling the country.
“I think that many people got to a point where they were sick and tired of hiding what they felt was common sense,” Lalas told Sky News.
“It made me sad that they felt the pressure and that they were ultimately scared to express that.”
Alexi Lalas. Pic: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
There can be a backlash from those not expecting such a strident right-leaning approach from the player they might remember as a “90s grunge hippie type”.
“I have lost friends because of it,” said the Fox Sports commentator who was in Washington for the presidential parties. “There are people that view me differently than they did before because now they know my political affiliation.
“I’m not going to apologise for it. I believe that I’m a good person, that I want good things.”
The World Cup will be unprecedented. Not just being the largest with 48 teams, but bringing an influx of millions of sports fans, unlike anything seen in the country before.
“[Trump] recognises the power and the draw of sports and being associated with that,” Lalas said.
How will pledges to FIFA to allow ticket-holding fans entry collide with a clampdown on immigration? An early test will be when the new men’s Club World Cup is used as a test event this summer.
Alexi Lalas during his playing career in the late ’90s. Pic: Reuters
Inside Trump’s alliance with FIFA boss Infantino
It’s a platform not just for the players, but for the Trump-Gianni Infantino alliance to dominate.
Few have ingratiated themselves with Trump like the FIFA leader. Public displays of loyalty through the scandals of the first term were rewarded with a prime spot at the inauguration, just behind the president and his predecessors on Monday.
The boss of a global football governing body that promotes non-discrimination listened to – but not always obviously applauding – an address that vowed to eliminate diversity and inclusion programmes, and only recognise male and female genders.
Read more:
List of executive orders signed by Trump
President rebuked by bishop
Infantino gifted Trump a USA football shirt in the Oval Office during his first presidency. Pic: Reuters
This is a country with plans to bid again for the Women’s World Cup, which for the first time in 2023 featured a transgender and non-binary player – Canada’s Quinn.
Shutting trans women out of women’s sport was on Trump’s mind before, and after, taking the oath of office. His go-to topic for rally speeches is now high on the Oval Office agenda.
The vow to protect the fairness of women’s sport is perhaps persuading female athletes with rival loyalties to at least consider backing the Republican.
“This was a very decisive issue for many women like me, who consider themselves largely Democrat and have been their entire lives,” cyclist Evie Edwards, part of the ICONS advocacy group, told Sky News.
“It’s been very, very difficult over the last five years to get voices heard.
“The fact that they’re just now being heard, the fact that President Trump announced this on day one in office, is extremely encouraging for the majority of us.
“Regardless, if your party affiliation is Republican or Democrat, it’s an extremely important, necessary step.”
👉 Tap here to follow Trump 100 wherever you get your podcasts 👈
How do trans athletes feel about Trump?
To the marginalised trans athlete community, facing discrimination in wider society, there is a feeling of being targeted for political gain and excluded from the sports they love.
Trans male wrestler Mack Beggs is troubled by the constant misgendering of Paris 2024 women’s boxing champion Imane Khelif by Trump, in campaign speeches based on disputed gender eligibility tests on the Algerian.
“Overall [Trump is] going to use anything that he can to exploit any little thing when it comes to those major events,” Beggs told Sky News. “I think that using Imane as a pawn and a tool in order to elevate that conversation and fan irrational fear of trans athletes being in sports is kind of a little pathetic.”
And it is about more than just having the chance to compete.
Canada’s Quinn during training. Pic: Reuters
“The majority of my community is scared because it’s not just about the sports,” said Beggs, who still dreams of fighting one day in the Trump-loving UFC. “It’s about overall our rights being taken away as a whole.
“We start with sports and that’s going to go on to the medical bills as well.”
And Trump has rapidly shut down government accessibility initiatives – contradicting the societal change promoted by the Paralympics which come to LA in 2028.
But will anyone in sport stand up to Trump if inflammatory rhetoric and meddling risks overshadowing sports? Trump called Paris 2024 a “disgrace” over the opening ceremony depiction of the Last Supper, fuelling an Olympic culture war.
Sebastian Coe could be running the Olympics by the time of Los Angeles 2028 if he wins the IOC presidential election in March.
“I’m not entirely unused to dealing with politicians,” Lord Coe, a former Conservative MP, told Sky News. “I understand the language. I understand the pressures. It’s a landscape I’m comfortable in. But sport has to maintain its independence and its autonomy.”
In a Trump world that is not always possible – as the campaign trail and his first two days in office have made clear. And not every sports leader wants to maintain their independence, seduced by the entry into the orbit of real global power.
