Donald Trump joked about putting rival Kamala Harris in the ring with Mike Tyson at a rally in Pennsylvania, highlighting his appeal to female voters.
Trump went out of his way to praise “Iron Mike” Tyson following a story about an Olympic boxer he accused of being a transgender woman.
“I know Iron Mike, and he’s a great guy, Mike Tyson. He is a good man,” said Trump, who was involved in the boxing promotion before becoming a politician through his former casino and hotel empire in Atlantic City, praising the former heavyweight champion.
“Oh, they could fight Iron Mike. I’ll tell you. Iron Mike would say this is not a good thing,” Trump said after his speech about transgender athletes.
“Mike is – Mike has been through a lot, but he could fight. I can tell you that guy could fight. But can you imagine Mike?’ Trump asked.
At that point, someone in the audience apparently shouted out the idea of Tyson versus Harris. “Oh,” he says, “put Mike in the ring with Kamala. That will be…” Trump said, agreeing with the idea.
“I know Iron Mike, and he’s a great guy,” Trump said of boxing great Mike Tyson. He talked about putting Tyson in a boxing ring with rival Kamala Harris during his rally in Pennsylvania Monday, the last day before Election Day.
The former president made the comment in the battleground’s most crucial state, backed by a crowd of women holding pink “Women for Trump” signs — a gesture staged by his campaign to underline the message.
Both camps are engaged in a desperate battle to secure women’s votes. Women make up the majority of the electorate. And a shocking Des Moines Register poll from Iowa gave Harris a 20-point lead among women — a margin the Trump camp sees as unrealistic.
The undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, Tyson was both a cultural phenomenon of foul play and a powerhouse in the ring. He was convicted of rape in 1992 following allegations from Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington and served three years in prison. During one of his comeback fights in 1997, he was disqualified after biting off part of Evander Hollyfield’s ear.
Accusations from Desiree Washington led to Tyson’s conviction in a rape case
Trump called Mike Tyson a ‘great guy’
Trump accused Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif, whom he accused of transitioning. She denied it before and after her win
Trump praised Tyson while complaining about transgender men participating in women’s sports.
He brought up Olympic fighter Imane Khelif of Algeria, who defeated Italian fighter Angela Carini after exiting the match after just 46 seconds. Khelif came under scrutiny after failing to pass a gender suitability test for a previous women’s boxing championship, although there no indication she is transgender.
‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman. I lived as a woman. I participated as a woman. There is no doubt about that,” she said after her Olympic gold medal match.
Trump has regularly highlighted the issue of transgender sports at his rallies.
“These two men who made the transition, you would be shocked to know that they both won gold medals,” Trump said.
“It’s so unfair, it’s so ridiculous,” he said.
Trump has held up his ability to go “faster” at his rallies, criticizing Harris as written.
On Sunday, during a speech in Lititz, Pennsylvania, he was criticized for talking about a potential shooter and the media, which he calls “fake news.”
‘And to get me someone would have to cut through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much. I don’t mind that,” Trump said.
Trump has long defended Tyson, including shortly after the 1992 verdict. “I am absolutely against what happened. “I am a strong believer in harsh punishment,” Trump said at the time. “But we think that in this particular case, much more good could probably be done by having Mike Tyson pay a substantial reward to the victim, subject to court approval, and by creating a ward for people who have been abused or raped in Washington state. Indiana.’