"We will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls," Trump added to applause and cheers.

Trump's order allows US government agencies to deny funds to schools that allow transgender athletes to compete on women's teams.

"If you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated... and risk your federal funding," Trump said.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which regulates student athletics in colleges across the country, welcomed the order and said they would align to it "in the coming days."

"We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today's student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in a statement.

"To that end, President Trump's order provides a clear, national standard," he said.

Trump also said he would now push the International Olympic Committee to change its rules on transgender athletes before the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and had ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to tell IOC "we want them to change everything... having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject."

He said he had also directed Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem to deny visa applications "made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the Games."

'Cruel attack'

Rights organization Amnesty International called the order "yet another cruel attack on transgender people that is very much intended to further stigmatize and discriminate against LGBTQ+ people."

Republican Trump has repeatedly targeted gender non-conforming people in a blitz of orders pushing his radical right-wing agenda at the start of his second term.

At his inauguration speech he announced that US government policy would only recognize two genders, male and female — ending the practice of providing a third gender option in some settings.

Days later he signed an order to rid the military of what he called "transgender ideology" and effectively ban transgender troops.

He also issued an order to restrict gender transition procedures for people under age 19.

The slew of actions comes despite the fact that transgender people make up only a small minority of the US population.

During the 2024 election campaign he repeatedly hammered Democrats on the divisive issue of transgender rights, capitalizing on a broader culture war over the topic.

One of Trump's most successful attack lines against his election rival Kamala Harris — "Kamala Harris is for they/them. President Trump is for you" — targeted her support for trans rights.

His executive order Wednesday comes after the Republican-led House of Representatives in January passed a bill severely restricting transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports.

As transgender people have become a more visible presence in the United States, sparking questions around gender norms and fairness, many conservatives have rallied around women's sports.

AFP

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