Christian Pulisic netted a brace in the USMNT’s 4-2 victory over Jamaica on Monday, securing their spot in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal. Following his first goal, Pulisic celebrated by performing a version of the viral “Donald Trump Dance” in the corner, with Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi joining him in the joyous moment.
Pulisic became the latest athlete to join the trend of doing the “Trump Dance” as a celebration. Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers performed the dance after scoring a touchdown on Sunday, crediting UFC star Jon Jones, who also did it at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden, as his inspiration. Pulisic acknowledged both of them as his influences, describing the dance as a fun viral moment.
Pulisic openly acknowledged that his celebration was inspired by the “Trump Dance,” clarifying that it was meant to be a fun, lighthearted moment rather than a political statement. He also pointed out that other athletes had recently used the same celebration, further emphasizing its playful nature.
“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 of the celebration. “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.”
He added: “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.”
🕺🏼🇺🇸 Christian Pulisic hit the Donald Trump dance after scoring for USMNT overnight 🎶
“Why that? Well, I just thought it was funny!”, he says.
🔴⚫️ Pulisic also has 12 G/A in 15 games for AC Milan, doing great this season. pic.twitter.com/TVihAlnMGS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 19, 2024
Pulisic has been in sensational form for both club and country, contributing to four goals in just three matches since Mauricio Pochettino took charge. He provided an assist for Yunus Musah in the victory over Panama in November, though he missed the trip to Mexico during the same camp. Pulisic didn’t miss a beat in the November window, assisting Ricardo Pepi in Jamaica before netting a brace in Monday’s win in St. Louis.
With these goals, he surpassed Eric Wynalda, moving into fourth place on the USMNT’s all-time goalscoring list with 35 goals, now trailing only Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey.
Pulisic will now return to AC Milan for a crucial match this weekend, where he and Yunus Musah will lead the team into a showdown against Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus on Saturday.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
