‘Trump Dance’ sweeps American sports
U.S. president-elect inspires copycats in the NFL and UFC.
Moderator - Tomas Kauer Donald Trump’s signature dance is coming to a sporting event near you.
Several top sports stars over the weekend appear to have busted out The Trump (think: your awkward uncle dancing at a wedding after quaffing Aperol spritz from the free bar) to celebrate wins and big plays.
The U.S. president-elect, who romped to victory in the Nov. 5 election, has been dancing at rallies for years and his robotic jiving appears to have cut through to mainstream popular culture.
Cage fighter Jon Jones was first up, busting out the Trump moves seconds after his victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday night — in front of a live audience including Trump himself, billionaire Elon Musk, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, incoming Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and several other MAGA heavyweights.
Trump shared a video of Jones’ homage on his Truth Social account Sunday.
In the National Football League — which irritated the president-elect repeatedly during his first term, as star players knelt down during the national anthem to protest against police brutality in the U.S. — awkward jigging practically went viral Sunday afternoon.
Multiple Detroit Lions defensemen, led by Za’Darius Smith, did the dance to celebrate a big play in the final moments of a huge win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Smith even mimicked a little golf swing, a recent added flourish by Trump to his on-stage boogieing.
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers broke out the jig to celebrate a third quarter touchdown, and was later asked about it by a reporter from USA Today.
“I’ve seen everyone do it. I watched the UFC fight last night and Jon Jones did it. I like watching UFC so I saw it, and thought it was cool,” Bowers said after the game, which Las Vegas lost 34-19 to the Miami Dolphins.
The reporter who asked about the dance said that the Raiders’ PR team ended Bowers’ media availability after his question about the dance.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley also did the dance after scoring a touchdown in a defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.
The outbreak of Trump dancing — which features arms pumping stiffly, feet planted to the ground and hips rotating awkwardly — comes a week after San Francisco 49ers defensive player Nick Bosa was fined more than €10,000 for violating league uniform rules by wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat as he butted into a post-game interview days before America voted.
