President Donald Trump admitted he isn’t sure whether Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham can play basketball, but he said he likes her anyway.
During a recent campaign rally, Trump got sidetracked on Cunningham while talking about women’s sports. He admitted he didn’t know much about the WNBA, praised her looks and the fans cheering for her, and said she is “good at bringing sanity to life.”
“Because a thing like that could never happen. It’s a movement to allow,” Trump said before getting to his point. “I like, don’t you like Sophie Cunningham, by the way? I think she’s, I think, I don’t know that much about women’s basketball. I don’t even know if she can play.”
“I assume she can. She’s probably good, but there’s something about her that’s really great,” he added. “I sort of like her, I must tell you. She’s great, Sophie Cunningham. You know, she’s a big fan of Ozzy. She’s a great look.”
Trump then gave an example of a young girl cheering for the guard. “The girl screaming, ‘Sophie, we love you, Sophie.’ This girl, this little girl,” he said. “No, I don’t know if she’s any good at basketball, but she’s good at sanity. She’s good, good at bringing sanity to life.”
He ended his speech by saying, “Meanwhile, you’re next.”
Trump didn’t explain what he meant by sanity, but the comment probably referred to Cunningham’s opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports, which Trump supported.
He made similar remarks at a midterm rally Monday night at the Covelli Center in Youngstown, Ohio, where he campaigned for Republican Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
While commenting on transgender athletes, Trump called Cunningham beautiful and turned to former NFL coach Jon Gruden sitting in the crowd. He said a team would want her “not to help you with points, but to help you with attendance.” He also said many men want to watch her play and joked that calling a woman beautiful can ruin a politician’s career.
The remarks received a quick reaction online. Some critics accused the president of reducing a professional athlete to her looks, while others took the comment as a joke about her ability to score points. Jemele Hill of The Atlantic tweeted, “It’s the unintended stray that’s killing me.”
Cunningham hasn’t commented on the remarks. Following the Youngstown rally, she posted a Bible verse from Thessalonians on her Instagram Stories, asking people to lift each other and encourage one another.
Cunningham is 30 years old and hails from Columbia, Missouri. She is a former Missouri player and is in her eighth WNBA season, her second with the Fever. She spent six seasons with the Phoenix Mercury before Indiana signed her in January 2025 as part of a four-team trade.
In Indianapolis, she gained popularity for her tough style of play and as Caitlin Clark’s bodyguard, protecting the star guard when opponents fouled her hard. Her season ended in August due to a torn MCL in her right knee.
She signed with the Fever again in April on a one-year deal. This season, she averaged 7.9 points, the lowest in five years. However, she shot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc and was one of 14 league players with over 40 percent from three. She played in 43 of 44 regular-season games and scored fourth-most for the playoff team.
Now an unrestricted free agent, Cunningham spoke out this month after a column in The Athletic suggested the Fever let her go. “I know what I bring to the table. It’s not always in the stat sheet,” she said.
Her popularity across the country increased this summer after her interview with ESPN in which she said that she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room” from competing against biological men. She said that she doesn’t hate transgender people and that her position was misrepresented.
Her comments provoked protests at several games, including in Seattle and Minneapolis, and a statement from the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. Her former podcast partner, Bravo reality star West Wilson, openly disagreed with her, while she defended herself on Instagram, saying “I said what I said.”
The White House joined the discussion, with Karoline Leavitt. The press secretary said that men shouldn’t be allowed to participate in women’s sports and described the backlash against Cunningham as astonishing. After a game against the Minnesota Lynx, Cunningham took pictures with conservative activist Riley Gaines and former Levi’s executive Jennifer Sey.
The collective bargaining agreement of the WNBA says that only women are eligible to play in the league, although it doesn’t prohibit transgender women. No transgender woman has ever competed in the WNBA. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of laws in West Virginia and Idaho that prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports teams.
Cunningham has been drawing political attention for years. She got the nickname “MAGA Barbie” during her college years, but she says that people assume her politics because she is white and from Missouri.
