President-elect Donald Trump is a lot of things.
He is a billionaire, a real estate developer, a game show host, and a soon-to-be two-time president of the United States. Yet, after observing the jovial celebrations by professional athletes over the last week, Trump can add one more title to his list of accomplishments: dance trendsetter.
Christian Pulisic, the captain and star player for the U.S. men’s national soccer team, was the latest athlete to break out the phenomenon known as the “Trump dance” in celebration after scoring a goal in Monday’s 4-2 victory over Jamaica in the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Concacaf Nations League. It was an important victory for the team as it allowed them to advance to the semifinals.
Despite the significance of the victory, the big story was arguably Pulisic’s dance celebration, as he became the latest athlete to partake in the dance craze sweeping the nation.
Trump performed the now-famous dance at his rallies, most recently to the song “YMCA” by the Village People. However, Trump’s dance has been around for several years and has been performed to other songs as well. Four years ago, the dance inspired a TikTok challenge. The dance by professional athletes is a new trend.
The dance made its professional sports debut on November 10 by Leonard Floyd of the San Francisco 49ers after teammate Nick Bosa recorded a sack in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bosa joined in and received most of the attention and credit for the dance, but it was Floyd who did it first.
This was followed by UFC fighter Jon Jones doing the celebratory dance after winning his fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night. On Sunday, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and Detroit Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith all performed the dance in their respective games.
However, Pulisic’s rendition could be considered the most noteworthy given that he did Trump’s dance as a member of the U.S. men’s national team, which would be a stark contrast to the president-elect’s connection to Pulisic’s female counterparts, the U.S. women’s national team, particularly retired player Megan Rapinoe. The athlete-turned-left-wing-activist began her feud with Trump when she refused to participate in the tradition of visiting the president in the White House after the women’s team won the World Cup in 2019.
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Furthermore, consider the difference between Pulisic’s and Rapinoe’s antics on the pitch. While Rapinoe criticized the United States, President Trump, and kneeled in honor of social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter, Pulisic danced the Trump dance.
In just five years, the sentiment toward Trump in the U.S. soccer world has significantly changed. Whereas the women’s team demeaned and disrespected Trump five years ago, today, the men’s team replicated the dance moves of the president-elect.
