President Donald Trump escalated his administration’s all-out assault on transgender people Wednesday, announcing plans to ban transgender athletes from around the world from competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles by denying them visas. Per U.S. policy since Trump took office in January, transgender and nonbinary identities are no longer acknowledged federally.
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During a signing ceremony for his latest anti-trans executive order, which prohibits transgender athletes from participating in high school and college sports at federally funded institutions, Trump revealed his administration’s intention to block transgender Olympians from entering the United States altogether.
“When the Olympics comes to Los Angeles… my administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes. We’re just not going to let it happen,” Trump said. “And for the same reason, I’m also directing our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes.”
Related: BREAKING: Donald Trump bans transgender athletes from playing sports
Trump’s directive effectively weaponizes immigration policy against transgender athletes, potentially impacting not only the 2028 Olympics but also other major global competitions hosted in the U.S., including the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The U.S. Olympic Committee did not respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.
Trump’s latest attack on transgender athletes doesn’t stop at the border. He is also ordering the State Department to pressure the International Olympic Committee to change its inclusion policies.
“I’m directing the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to make clear to the International Olympic Committee that America categorically rejects transgender lunacy,” Trump said. “We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject.”
The IOC has spent years developing policies that balance fairness, inclusion, and non-discrimination in elite sports. In 2021, after consulting with over 250 athletes and stakeholders, the organization introduced the Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.
The nonbinding framework encourages sports governing bodies to set their eligibility criteria while avoiding medically unnecessary procedures and ensuring no presumption of advantage based solely on gender identity.
Trump’s call for a total exclusion of transgender athletes is entirely at odds with the IOC’s stance, which prioritizes both fairness in competition and the right of all athletes to participate without discrimination.
The IOC did not immediately respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.
Trump’s plan to exclude transgender Olympians is just one of many extreme measures his administration has implemented against transgender athletes since his return to office.
Wednesday’s executive order—signed during a White House ceremony packed with Republican lawmakers and anti-trans activists—effectively bans transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports at high schools and colleges that receive federal funding.
Wednesday’s signing was the culmination of Trump’s escalating crackdown on transgender athletes. His “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order formally codifies his administration’s anti-transgender policies, directing multiple federal agencies to cut off funding to schools and colleges that allow transgender athletes to compete and instructing the Department of Justice to prioritize Title IX enforcement against institutions that include trans women in women’s sports.
The order claims that “ignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities” and directs all federal agencies to review and rescind grants to programs that “fail to comply” with its policies.
In addition to restricting domestic sports participation, the order tasks the State Department with pressuring the IOC to rewrite its inclusion policies and directs U.S. officials to advocate against transgender participation in international sports forums, including at the United Nations.
The order instructs the State Department and Homeland Security to “review and adjust” visa policies to prevent trans athletes from competing in the U.S., citing provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that bar individuals suspected of “fraudulent entry.”
The move follows a January 20 executive order that stripped the federal government of recognition for transgender and nonbinary people, a January 27 order banning trans service members from the U.S. military, and a January 28 directive eliminating federal support for gender-affirming health care.
Chris Mosier, a transgender athlete and advocate, condemned the executive order in a statement to The Advocate.
“Banning transgender athletes was a campaign promise and I knew it was coming, but my heart still breaks for the young people who are being targeted for political gain,” Mosier said. “This Executive Order piles on to the harmful, dangerous, and sometimes deadly rhetoric and misinformation about transgender people. The truth is, we play sports for the same reasons as everyone else—to be a part of a team, to challenge ourselves, and to have fun.”
Mosier also called out the timing of the executive order.
“Releasing this Executive Order on National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a political stunt disguised as concern for women and girls, but in reality, it undermines the safety and opportunity of all women and girls in sports,” he said. “Sports bans harm all women and girls by inviting additional scrutiny of the bodies of any woman or girl who doesn’t conform to sex-based stereotypes. It sends a harmful message to all women and girls that it is unacceptable and dangerous to exist outside of narrow, stereotypical notions of femininity.”
Mosier, who has spent years advocating for transgender inclusion in sports, reaffirmed his commitment to fighting these policies.
“I have worked for the last 15 years to make it easier for the transgender athletes who followed in my footsteps, and I will continue to fight for the rights of my community and to ensure there are safe, welcoming, and affirming spaces for young people like me,” he said.
“The existence of trans students does not threaten anyone. All young people deserve the opportunity to be their authentic self and play the sports they love.”
