President-elect Donald Trump’s dance moves have garnered attention before, but not quite like this. Recently, they’ve been popping up at National Football League games.
“It’s a simple routine: Bend your elbows, close your fists, and move your arms back and forth as the Trump vibes flow. Add head-[tilting] and facial expressions for some flair,” said USA Today of the 78-year-old’s dance moves.
During Trump’s recent presidential campaign, this dance caught the public’s attention – including former President Barack Obama.
“Let me explain because I’ve done a lot of town hall meetings,” Obama said at an Arizona event in October. “The point of a town hall meeting is to take questions. He just decided, you know what, I’m going to stop taking questions, and then he’s swaying to ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Y.M.C.A.’ for about half an hour. Folks are standing there, not sure what’s happening. Can you imagine if I did that?”
According to USA Today, San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa started the NFL Trump dance trend in the NFL during a Nov. 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Bosa celebrated alongside teammates Leonard Floyd, Sam Okuayinonu and Fred Warner. His dance even earned him a shout-out from Trump on Truth Social.
“All the guys wanted me to do it. I wasn’t even going to do it, but the boys reminded me. And it was fun,” Bosa told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Previously, the NFL fined Bosa $11,255 for wearing a MAGA hat on the field in an Oct. 27 post-game interview. According to a report from ESPN, Bosa was fined after he crashed an interview with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy after their “Sunday Night Football” victory and violated BFL rules about what players are allowed to wear on game days. He could be seen walking right up behind Purdy and pointing to his hat.
“It was well worth it,” Bosa told reporters about the fine.
Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith, 32, also jumped on the trend, as well as Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley, 29. USA Today noted that the NFL player’s embrace of Trump is a turnaround from when he accused players in the league disrespecting the American flag by kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice.
At 27 years old, Bosa is member of the Gen Z male cohort who helped Trump win the White House. NBC News exit polling data revealed that more voters under 30 voted for Trump than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008. His popularity growth was especially prominent among young men – while President Joe Biden beat Trump by 11 percentage points among young men four years ago, Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris by 2 points this year.
Support from media personalities such as podcaster, comedian and UFC commenter Joe Rogan and YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul helped Trump with this cohort, NBC News said. In addition to football players, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, of the UFC has also done the Trump dance – with Trump in attendance.
Other Gen Z athletes who have been seen doing Trump’s dance moves include Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers, 21, per the Associated Press. Bowers did his Trump dance after a 34-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“I’ve seen everyone do it,” Bowers told USA TODAY Sports, answering the last question of his postgame media availability. “I watched the UFC fight [Saturday] night and Jon Jones did it. I like watching UFC so I saw it, and thought it was cool.”
The AP reported that the Raiders didn’t include Bowers’ postgame availability with their other postgame videos, and that his comment on the Trump dance wasn’t included in transcripts provided by the team.
Still, it seems like the trend continues to have steam. U.S. men’s soccer player Christian Pulsic, 26, also busted out the Trump moves after scoring a goal against Jamaica this Monday.
College athletes have done the Trump dance as well, including West Virginia’s Nicco Marchiol, Drake University’s Trey Radocha, Northern Illinois University’s Tristen Tewes and University of Texas defender Michael Taaffee. While Bosa was identified as the starter of the NFL trend, USA Today East Carolina quarterback Katin Houser may have kicked off the trend in college sports with his celebration two days after the Nov. 5 election.