Trump again criticizes two Olympic gold medal athletes, wrongly calling the female boxers men

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday again criticized two Olympic gold medalists, wrongly labeling the female boxers as men.

Trump made the comments at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, pledging to “keep men out of women’s sports.” He turned his attention to the recently concluded Olympic Games and the case of two athletes who have been the subject of international criticism for misconceptions about their gender.

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Trump has long criticized transgender people at his rallies, specifically targeting transgender athletes, and using language about gender identity that LGBTQ+ activists find wrong and harmful.

Read more: Boxer Imane Khelif speaks out on gender controversy after winning Olympic gold

In the case of the two boxers, both Imane Khelif from Algeria and Li Yu-ting from Taiwan have faced misunderstandings about their gender. These misunderstandings have arisen in the aftermath of the decision of the International Boxing Association, which decided last year to disqualify both fighters from the world championships for failing an entrance test.

Trump did not name the athletes, but noted that “during the Olympics there were two in transition.”

“They were men. They moved on to women and they were in boxing,” Trump said.

Despite being born and raised as women, Khelif and Lin found themselves in the crosshairs of Western debates about gender, sex and sport after they failed the now-banned International Boxing Association’s unspecified and non-transparent eligibility tests for women’s competitions.

Read more: What You Need to Know About the Gender Battle in Olympic Boxing

Trump and other prominent figures have complained about Khelif being allowed to run. Trump has previously called Khelif a man.

On Saturday he did so again, describing both athletes competing in the games as “crazy” and saying: “It’s so degrading for women.”