▶ Following UFC champion Jon Jones, NFL players also do the Trump dance after a touchdown.
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There are signs that the ‘Trump Dance’, which President-elect Donald Trump performed during the last presidential election, will become popular in the sports world.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th, the number of athletes imitating President-elect Trump’s movements as a ‘victory ceremony’ in the sports world, including the National Football League (NFL) and the UFC, a martial arts competition, is increasing.
This movement, which President-elect Trump performed to music during his campaign, was initially the subject of laughter.
This movement of holding both arms forward alternately while keeping the upper body and head stiff only emphasized the fact that President-elect Trump was ‘shameless’ and could not be considered a proper dance.
However, with the UFC event held at Madison Square Garden in New York on the 16th, the sports world’s perspective on the ‘Trump Dance’ changed.
This is because heavyweight champion Jon Jones, a Trump supporter, performed the ‘Trump dance’ towards President-elect Trump, who was sitting in the VIP section, after winning by TKO.
After the game, Jones greeted President-elect Trump by handing him his championship belt.
When the Trump dance appeared in the main event of the UFC, which is extremely popular with male fans, NFL players immediately began to follow suit.
The next day, on the 17th, Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders did the Trump dance with his teammates in celebration after scoring a touchdown.
Bowers said in a post-fight interview that he copied Jones’ dance after seeing it on a UFC broadcast.
In addition to Bowers, it was confirmed that players from other NFL teams also performed the Trump dance as a touchdown celebration.
However, it is unclear whether the Trump dance will spread throughout the sports world.
This is because there is also clear antipathy toward President-elect Trump within the United States. From the perspective of the professional sports world, which must be conscious of advertising and sponsorship, the risk of allowing Trump’s dance must also be kept in mind.
In fact, the Las Vegas Raiders deleted Bowers’ remarks from their postgame press release and edited out Trump’s dance ceremony from their highlight video.
