- Trump emphasizes testing to prevent transgender athletes at 2028 LA Olympics.
- He signed an executive order banning transgender athletes in women's sports.
- IOC's policy review aims to ensure fairness; USOPC updated its athlete policy.
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump is counting on testing at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles to prevent transgender athletes from competing in women's events, even though that has not been mandated in all sports.
"There will be a very, very strong form of testing, and if the test doesn't come out appropriately, they won't be in the Olympics," the president said Tuesday after signing an executive order creating a White House task force on the L.A. Games that he'll lead.
Trump stopped short of saying U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi would consider prosecuting transgender athletes who attempt to compete in women's events at the L.A. Games, telling the reporter who asked that it was a question for Bondi.
"As far as charges, I'd have to ask the attorney general about that. I don't know," the president said.
In February, he signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports that included a call for the International Olympic Committee to do the same. It also warns that the U.S. will attempt to stop transgender athletes from entering the country.
But eligibility requirements for participation in women's events at the Olympics are currently up to the governing bodies of individual sports under the IOC's 2021 "Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations."
Some, like track and field's World Athletics, have instituted bans as well as gender testing. The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, announced in June that the IOC's policy will be reviewed in an effort to "protect the female category" and "ensure fairness."
Last month, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee quietly updated its athlete safety policy to comply with Trump's transgender ban, effectively barring transgender athletes from competing for Team USA.
Trump made a point of thanking USOPC Chair Gene Sykes, who is also an IOC member, for "banning men from competing in women's sports. That's a big deal." The president then urged those gathered for the ceremony to applaud.
"Nobody wants to clap. It's crazy," he said, citing numbers that apparently intended to refer to support for his position. "The U.S. will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics, so we appreciate the fairness and everything else that you've shown."
Sykes did not make remarks at the ceremony. He and the CEO of the USOPC, Sarah Hirshland, said in an email to the "Team USA community" that the policy change was the result of having "engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials."
Trump was also asked Tuesday if the USOPC would have made the change had he not been president, as well as whether the new ban on transgender athletes would remain in place after he leaves office.
"I think they probably would have, because it just seems to be an issue that most people feel should be. I can't really say," he said, adding, "there's a possibility it could go either way, if you really want to know the truth."
The president said he feels strongly about the ban and "ran a campaign at least partially on that."
