Ex-US president Donald Trump has won widespread support after reports claimed he had "attacked" the transgender community and "mocked" athletes in his first major speech since leaving office, voicing his fears for women's sports.
Reacting to the move by his replacement in the White House, Joe Biden, to sign a new gender discrimination act as one of his first jobs in office and a sign of his departure from his predecessor's policies, Trump said that women's records were being "smashed with ease" by competitors whose biological gender was male.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, tough-talking Trump is said to have earned cheers and laughs as he boggled at rules that are set to allow transgender athletes to compete in high school and college sports in accordance with their gender identity, rather than biological sex.
"Joe Biden and the Democrats are even pushing policies that would destroy women's sports," Trump said, articulating his reservations about an executive order that Biden immediately signed upon taking office in January.
"Young girls and women are incensed that they are now being forced to compete against those who are biological males.
“It's not good for women’s sports, which worked so long and so hard to get to where they were.
“A lot of new records are being broken in women’s sports. Hate to say that, ladies, but you have got a lot of new records that are being shattered."
Appearing to perform a bizarre impression of someone pushing weights, Trump singled out weightlifting and observed that "every ounce [has been] like a big deal for many years."
"All of a sudden, somebody comes along and beats it by 100lb. The records that have stood for years, even decades, are being smashed with ease."
Despite some headlines describing Trump as having "attacked" and belittled the transgender community in his remarks, the billionaire received a deluge of support online, including from many who admitted that they had never sided with him politically.
"'Attacks' transgenders?'" asked one. "He said that 'biological men are ending women’s sports' and it’s completely true.
"Men have testosterone, more muscle and strength, also bigger thoracic capacity. It is called genetics. Not rocket science."
Trump, who has regularly been accused of sensationalism and shock tactics, said that he did not believe his forthright opinions on the sensitive subject were divisive.
"I think it's crazy what is happening – we must protect the integrity of women’s sports,” he explained.
“And I don’t even know, is that controversial? Someone said, ‘well that’s going to be very controversial’ and I said, 'that’s OK – you have not heard anything yet.”
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