Trump asks LeBron James if he ever wanted to be a woman in WNBA comment
The former president linked his preference for Michael Jordan to his stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump asks LeBron James if he ever wanted to be a woman in WNBA comment
Photograph: Reality Tea (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Donald Trump asked LeBron James if he had ever wanted to be a woman while suggesting he could star in the WNBA, a remark he linked to his preference for Michael Jordan over James.
- The WNBA has no transgender players on any roster, as reported by Reality Tea and corroborated by other outlets.
- Four right-rated outlets led on a separate controversy involving Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
- No left-rated outlet covered the story, according to the reports provided.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
77/100
Hype
55/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Former US president Donald Trump asked LeBron James if he had ever wanted to be a woman while suggesting he could play in the WNBA. The remark came during a discussion about transgender athletes in women’s sports, as reported by Reality Tea. Trump said he would approach James with the question to recruit him for a hypothetical team that would dominate the league. He added that he would be the greatest women’s basketball coach in history because he prefers Michael Jordan over James.
Trump’s comment followed James’ decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers for his 24th NBA season. When asked about the greatest basketball player of all time, Trump said he favoured Jordan, citing their personal friendship. He also suggested James might be a racist but said he did not know for certain. The WNBA currently has no transgender players on any roster, as Reality Tea noted.
Where the reports diverge
Reality Tea and The Comeback reported Trump’s remark about James and his preference for Jordan, with no mention of transgender athletes beyond the context of the WNBA’s current roster. Democratic Accent, Fox News and The Federalist led on a separate controversy involving Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has taken a stance against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Those digests described a firestorm in the WNBA over Cunningham’s comments, with critics labelling her views as anti-Black and anti-transgender.
The Federalist and Conservative Review published digests that framed James’ hypothetical move to the WNBA as a real announcement. The Federalist’s digest stated that James had announced he was joining the Minnesota Lynx, while Conservative Review’s digest claimed that WNBA teams were reaching out to retired NBA players to check on the stability of their identities.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mentioned Trump’s remark about LeBron James wanting to be a woman or his preference for Michael Jordan. None of the digests from Democratic Accent, Fox News, The Federalist or Conservative Review reported that the WNBA currently has no transgender players on any roster. No left-rated outlet ran the story at all, according to the reports provided.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 5 Aug 2026, 16:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The two centre-rated reports, Reality Tea and The Comeback, led on Trump’s remark about LeBron James and his preference for Michael Jordan. Reality Tea’s full report quoted Trump directly: “LeBron, did you ever have any desire to be a woman? Because what I’d love you to do is star on my team that I’m building up.” The outlet noted that Trump linked his comment to his stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports, though it also reported that the WNBA has no transgender players on any roster.
- Reality Tea carried Trump’s claim that he would be the greatest women’s basketball coach in history because he does not like LeBron James. It also included his suggestion that James might be a racist. The Comeback’s digest summarised Trump’s preference for Jordan over James but did not mention the remark about James wanting to be a woman.
Right
4 rated outlets
- All four right-rated digests led on a controversy involving Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports. Democratic Accent and Fox News described a firestorm in the WNBA, with critics accusing Cunningham of being anti-Black and anti-transgender. Neither digest mentioned Trump’s remark about LeBron James or the WNBA’s current roster.
- The Federalist and Conservative Review framed the story around a hypothetical move by LeBron James to the WNBA. The Federalist’s digest stated that James had announced he was joining the Minnesota Lynx, while Conservative Review’s digest claimed that WNBA teams were contacting retired NBA players to check on their identities. Neither digest mentioned Trump’s original remark or the WNBA’s policy on transgender athletes.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
2- Donald Trump’s Bizarre Comment About LeBron James in the WNBA Raises Eyebrows (opens Reality Tea in a new tab)
Reality Tea
- ‘LeBron, do you have any desire to be a woman?’: Donald Trump reveals plans as WNBA coach (opens The Comeback in a new tab)
The Comeback — is The Comeback biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
4- Trump's remarks on recruiting LeBron James to women's basketball resurface amid WNBA trans athlete debate – Democratic Accent (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump's remarks on recruiting LeBron James to women's basketball resurface amid WNBA trans athlete debate (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- LeBronya James To Dominate Women’s League Where Women Won’t Accept What A Woman Is (opens Conservative Review in a new tab)
Conservative Review — is Conservative Review biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- LeBronya James Preparing To Dominate WNBA (opens The Federalist in a new tab)
The Federalist — is The Federalist biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
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