Former Premier League star Christian Pulisic has explained why he did a ‘Donald Trump’ goal celebration for the United States on Monday.
The AC Milan winger, who played for Chelsea between 2019 and 2023, performed the act after scoring in the USA’s 4-2 victory over Jamaica.
Pulisic was seen doing the so-called viral ‘Trump Dance’, which he copied from NFL star Brock Bowers and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
The 26-year-old has denied that his celebration was a political endorsement after Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the recent election.
‘I saw everyone doing it yesterday in the NFL, I saw Jon Jones do it, and we were just having a bit of fun,’ Pulisic said.
‘I thought it was a pretty fun dance. Obviously, that’s the ‘Trump Dance’ but it was just a dance that everyone was doing.
‘He’s the one who created it, and I thought it was funny. It’s not a political dance.
‘It was just for fun. I saw a bunch of people do it and thought it was funny, so I enjoyed it.’
Trump has many links to the sporting world – including his beloved golf – with Bryson DeChambeau making a surprise and somewhat awkward appearance during the President’s victory speech earlier this month.
‘We have up here today the US Open champion, he’s a fantastic golfer,’ Trump said. ‘Obviously, he hits the ball slightly longer than me – just a little bit.’
Pausing to look around, Trump initially failed to spot DeChambeau on stage.
‘Bryson DeChambeau is up here somewhere,’ he exclaimed. ‘What happened to Bryson? Where is he? Bryson! He’s hitting balls. He’s on the way?’
Eventually, the LIV Golf star, who featured Trump in one of his YouTube videos that racked up 12 million views, made his way to the stage.