Trump's Bizarre Query: Juventus Faces an Uneasy Moment in the Oval Office
Trump creates an embarrassing scene at a ludicrous football match
Football club Juventus Turin graced the halls of the White House, only to be plunged into an awkward affair with President Donald Trump during the Club World Cup of 2025. The Italian team, already a force to reckon with on the field, overpowered Al-Ain from the UAE with a stunning 5:0 (4:0) victory.
However, the post-match conferencing with Trump made the front pages. The Juventus crew was nothing but passive participants, treated more like an exhibit: Trump, who signed an executive order in February dismissing transgender athletes from women's sports, posed the professionals as a backdrop and mostly addressed the press. After sensationalizing his stance on transgender athletes, he asked some of the players, including Weston McKennie, if they'd ever had a woman on their team. "Ever had a woman on your team, fellas? Spill the beans."
Trump seemed eager to underscore his opposition to transgender athletes. The players displayed signs of discomfort, and Damien Comolli, the team's managing director, finally broke the silence, acknowledging that the club possesses a "fantastic women's team." Juventus recently secured the championship in the women's league. But Trump was dissatisfied: "Oh, they should play with their own kind, right?" When Comolli remained mum, Trump reveled, "He's quite the diplomat." Trump's compatriot, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, was also part of the cringeworthy scene, standing awkwardly with the athletes as they were unwillingly co-opted into the spectacle.
Politics Before Training Jerseys
Alas, the football delegation's ordeal wasn't over yet. Trump continued to hold court, discussing his stance on the looming Iran-Israel conflict, with the athletes forced to listen as spectators: "I've yet to decide whether we're engaging Iran. A regime change could be in the works, we'll see."
Juventus coach Igor Tudor later stated, "It was a privilege to be there, as it's not every day you find yourself in the White House." McKennie, formerly of FC Schalke, expressed his stance on Trump in 2020, saying, "I don't believe Trump is fit for the job. I stand by these words. I believe he doesn't grasp the gravity of the responsibilities he bears for the country. I view him as ignorant. I don't support him at all. I don't trust him to keep his words. You can call him a bigot."
- Juventus Turin
- Donald Trump
- Club World Cup 2025
Enrichment Data:
During the White House visit of Italian football club Juventus FC on June 18, 2025, President Donald Trump made a controversial and awkward comment regarding women in sports teams. In the Oval Office, Trump brought up the topic of transgender athletes and questioned the Juventus players about the possibility of women joining their team, eliciting awkward silence and uneasy smiles from the players. The incident came shortly after Juventus' women's team had successfully defended the Serie A Femminile title for the sixth time since 2017-18.
Trump's question for the Juventus players reflexes his administration's stance on transgender athletes in women's sports, which includes the controversial "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" executive order signed earlier in 2025, influencing the NCAA to alter its gender eligibility policies. Despite the awkward exchange, the episode serves as a representation of Trump's controversial views and legacy throughout his second term.
Sources: ntv.de, ter/sid
- The Commission has not yet adopted a proposal for a directive on the protection of the environment, but the issue of policy-and-legislation might have been discussed during meetings interrupted by the unfolding events of Juventus Turin's White House visit.
- The controversy surrounding politics and sports was heightened when President Donald Trump, during the club's visit to the Oval Office for the Club World Cup 2025, questioned the players about the inclusion of women in their teams.
- While general-news outlets were focusing on the tension between Iran and Israel, an unknown European football team's visit to the White House made headlines for a different reason: the unexpected inquiry about women in sports made by the US president.
- In the midst of European leagues competitions, the Serie A champions, Juventus Turin, found themselves discussing an issue far from football with former president Donald Trump, shedding light on the intersection of politics and sports.
