President Donald Trump has thirsted over a “beautiful” WNBA player during a midterm campaign rally in Ohio on Monday.
Trump, 80, mentioned Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, 30, by name at the rally. Cunningham earned the nickname “MAGA Barbie” during her college days in Missouri, reportedly due to following conservatives including Candace Owens online, according to Complex.
She became a polarizing figure in the WNBA after an ESPN profile in July in which she said that she advocated against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports to “protect women’s sports.”
Despite her professional success, Trump suggested male sports fans had another motivation to watch her play.
“We like Sophie Cunningham. You have a lot of men wanting to go and watch her. She’s beautiful,” Trump said of Cunningham.
“You’re not allowed to say that anymore, however, as a politician, please, please, let me take it back. Anytime a politician says a woman is beautiful, that’s generally the end of his political career in the modern-day politic world.”
“But Sophie is a beautiful young woman,” he added. “You probably wouldn’t mind her on the team, not to help you with points, but to help you with attendance. The attendance would be great.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump mentioned Cunningham in his rally after he claimed that Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown “wants men playing in women’s sport.”
The president is not the only fan of the Indiana Fever player in his administration. Vice President JD Vance called Cunningham “courageous” after her comments about transgender athletes.
“Look, sometimes when you’re courageous in this country, some of the worst people in the world will try to attack you,” Vance, 41, told Fox News in August.
“What I would tell Sophie and anybody is to keep speaking your mind. You actually are inspiring a dozen people for every person that criticizes you.”
The sporting star also threw her support behind another MAGA-adjacent blonde, Sydney Sweeney, after the release of her near-nude betting ad.
“That’s what she’s known for,” Cunningham said last month. “So she’s going to do that. She’s making her money. Go do your thing, sis.”
As well as praising Cunningham, Trump also used Monday’s rally to fawn over the looks of fellow Republican Jon Husted.
Admitting he recently discovered Husted was a former footballer, Trump said he inspected the politician’s body during a previous meeting.
“I don’t do this with men very often, I started examining his body, because I didn’t know he was a great athlete,” Trump began to tell the MAGA crowd.
“And I looked, and I watched up and down, and I looked at his a-- ... and I looked at the whole... and then I looked at his hands, look at his hands, he’s got these, like, claws... and I got it, you are a great athlete.”
