Trump: 2028 Olympics testing to prevent transgender competitors in women’s division

President Donald Trump said athletes competing in the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles will face testing to prevent transgender participants from entering women’s events, notably including boxing.

At an Aug. 5 news conference focused on Olympic planning, Trump responded to a question about male athletes and the possibility of criminal charges for trans athletes who compete in boxing.

“Would your administration consider genetic testing so that these people can prove that they’re actually women competing?” a reporter asked.

Trump said he would “have to ask” Attorney General Pam Bondi about the Justice Department’s stance on possible charges.

“But 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,” Trump said.

Trump’s call for genetic testing comes as World Athletics recently announced it will require athletes to take a one-time genetic test to compete in the women’s category at world-ranking events.

The World Athletics test will screen for the SRY gene, which indicates the presence of a Y chromosome, which women lack. The sporting body will conduct the test via cheek swab or blood sample.

World Boxing also banned males from its women’s division in May after two male boxers – Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting – scandalously bloodied women on their way to gold medals in the Paris Olympics last year.

Trump made his comments about genetic testing after signing an executive order creating a White House Olympics task force, which will oversee security and other issues ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Additionally, Trump signed an EO in February barring transgender student athletes from competing in women’s sports. Following that order, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee updated its policy to ban male transgender athletes from participating in female divisions.

Committee President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland said the move came after “a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” after Trump’s decree.

The day before Trump’s comments, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released policy guidance saying transgender-identifying athletes would no longer qualify for “extraordinary ability” visas to compete in women’s sports categories.

“We are closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women,” Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson, said in a statement.

“It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports,” he added. “The Trump Administration is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.”

The 2028 Olympics will feature about 11,000 Olympic and 4,500 Paralympic athletes.