President Donald Trump took a decisive stance against California’s allowance of a transgender high school student, A.B. Hernandez, to compete in girls’ track and field championships, threatening to withhold federal funding unless the state complies with his February 2025 executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, qualified for the state meet in long jump and triple jump, prompting California’s athletic governing body to adjust rules to include more cisgender girls.
Trump’s move, lauded by supporters as a return to common sense, underscores his commitment to protecting women’s sports from policies that erode fairness and biological reality.
Trump’s executive order reflects a clear policy: biological males should not compete in female categories, safeguarding opportunities for girls who’ve trained under distinct physical conditions.
Hernandez’s participation, enabled by California’s permissive laws, ignited national debate, with Trump’s Truth Social post warning, “Large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently,” if compliance isn’t met. Supporters praise Trump’s resolve, with posts like “Finally, someone standing up for girls’ rights!”.
The policy aligns with Trump’s broader agenda to curb what he calls “woke nonsense,” prioritizing merit over ideology.
Critics, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, argue the threat penalizes a vulnerable student and oversteps federal authority. Yet, Trump’s backers counter that fairness, not discrimination, drives the policy.
Biological males, on average, retain strength and speed advantages post-transition, a fact backed by studies like a 2020 analysis in Sports Medicine, which found trans women maintained significant muscle mass after years of hormone therapy.
Allowing such athletes in girls’ sports risks displacing female competitors, as seen when Hernandez’s qualification prompted rule tweaks to accommodate cisgender girls.
The media’s focus on Hernandez’s personal story sidesteps the core issue: California’s rules undermine the integrity of women’s sports.
Trump’s threat leverages federal purse strings to enforce a principle gaining traction nationwide; 32 states have similar restrictions, per the National Conference of State Legislatures.
His “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by the House in May 2025, further cements this stance by banning Medicaid funding for transgender treatments, signaling a broader push against policies that blur biological lines.
As Trump champions fairness, his policy stands as a bulwark against a cultural shift that many see as nonsensical, ensuring girls’ sports remain a level playing field.
