Former President Donald Trump has again spouted the baseless and inaccurate claim that Paris Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif was born a man and transitioned to become a woman.

During the female boxing craze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, former President Donald Trump stirred up quite the furor concerning gold medalist Imane Khelif from Algeria. The athlete was enveloped by a whirlwind of controversy over baseless allegations that she was transgender or “genetically male.”

In truth, Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan were both born female with no history of transitioning, nor had they shown any intention to do so.

The commotion kicked off with Khelif’s swift victory in her first fight against Italy’s Angela Carini. Carini threw in the towel just 46 seconds into the bout, stunned by Khelif’s powerful blow. Post-fight, Carini confessed to journalists: “I’ve never been hit with such a powerful punch.”

Prominent figures like Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, author J. K Rowling, and billionaire tycoon Elon Musk jumped into the fray as Khelif fought valiantly to the final in the 66kg category, where she secured gold against China’s Yang Liu unanimously. After the games wrapped up, Khelif named Rowling and Musk in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed in France.

Yet, Trump lingered on the issue during his stint on ‘Bussin’ With The Boys,’ hosted by ex-NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton. On the show, Trump expressed his views plainly: “For instance, they want men playing in women’s sports,” he said. “I don’t think I could ever say I’m thrilled about that, OK? “.

“I’ve seen it; I’ve seen people really hurt. In the Olympics, you had two boxers that transitioned to women and the women’s boxing; they both won gold medals. And you saw the one, the young Italian girl, got hit a couple of times…” Trump’s comments were met with resistance from Compton, who argued that Italian Carini should’ve stayed in the ring. “You fight your entire life for that moment,” Compton said. “You know, going into it, you’re probably going to face this person.”

“It was a weird thing,” Trump responded. “I mean, she got hit very hard – and only with lefts. You know, it was, ‘poom,’ and she then walked back to the corner. She said, ‘I just got hit by a horse. I can’t take it.’ And then she walked back. You’re right about – a little bit right – but she’s fighting a man. She is fighting a man.” Compton reiterated his belief that Carini should’ve stayed in the fight and gone for the win, having worked her entire life to reach the Olympic stage.

Imane Khelif won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Imane Khelif won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics ( 

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(Image: Getty))

Trump later said: “He wants her to go in there and just get the hell beat out of her. She had a beautiful face. She wants her on the floor bleeding profusely; broken nose, it’ll never be the same again, scar down the face. You’re a tough guy. He’s a tough guy. She might’ve done the right thing, and I’m not one that says that… the two guys – there were two of them – and they both won a gold medal.”

The second individual Trump mentioned is Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships along with Khelif after failing the “gender eligibility test,” as stated by the IBA (International Boxing Association). However, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has declared that Khelif and Lin are “victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.”

“Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” according to the IOC. “According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA secretary general and CEO.”

“The IBA board only ratified the decision after the fact and then ordered that a proper procedure for similar future cases be established and incorporated into the IBA Regulations. The minutes further documented that the IBA should ‘establish a clear procedure on gender testing’. The ongoing persecution of these two athletes springs from this haphazard decision, which was made without the necessary proper procedures—especially given that these athletes have been competing at the highest levels for many years. Such actions stand in opposition to the principles of good governance.”