Donald Trump is reportedly drawing attention after commenting on a young girl’s height and volleyball dreams during an Oval Office exchange with her. The brief conversation was a part of a White House event on May 5, related to the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, which Trump revived as part of an attempt to bring back a school fitness test. There, many children and athletes joined him at the ceremony. But the whole exchange later turned into a bigger debate on how he spoke to a child about her sports goals.
Donald Trump says to young girl ‘soccer might be better’ than volleyball because of her height
The exchange began when Donald Trump asked the young girl what sport she played, and later quipped about her height as she answered, “I play volleyball, and then in the summer I’m trying to get into soccer.” Trump then asked, “And with your height, do you smash the ball, the volleyball. Do you get up high? Can you jump high?” When the girl answered, “Not very,” Trump told her, “Soccer might be better.” The president then added, “I’m just looking, I think she’d be a great soccer player,” telling the little one, “That’s good. Good luck, OK?”
It did not take long for the video to become a matter of discussion, with netizens focusing on how the girl had only shared her interest in volleyball and soccer before Trump steered the exchange toward whether her height suited the sport.
On the other hand, Trump’s supporters saw the remark as blunt but harmless advice. Others felt the president had dismissed a child’s ambition in front of cameras, with political commentator Ed Krassenstein writing on X (formerly Twitter) that Trump “mocked a little girl for being short, and stomped on her ambitions.”
In the end, Trump wished the young girl good luck, telling her she could be “a great soccer player.” However, many viewers are debating whether the president’s words came across as friendly sports advice or an unnecessary comment about a child’s height and volleyball dreams.
