Donald Trump made a joke about putting his rival Kamala Harris in the ring with Mike Tyson at a rally in Pennsylvania emphasizing 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’s a good man,” said Trump, who was involved in 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 comment about transgender athletes.
‘Mike is… Mike has been through a lot, but he could fight. Let me tell you, that guy could fight. But can you imagine Mike? -Trump asked.
At that moment, someone in the audience apparently shouted out the idea of Tyson vs. Harris. ‘Oh, he says, put Mike in the ring with Kamala. That will be…’ Trump said, pursuing 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 at his rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, the last day before Election Day.
The former president made the comment in the battleground state, backed by a crowd of women holding pink “Women for Trump” signs, a gesture organized by his campaign to underscore the message.
Both sides are in a desperate fight to secure the female vote. Women make up the majority of the electorate. And a shocking Des Moines Register poll in Iowa had Harris with a 20-point lead among women, a margin the Trump camp considers unrealistic.
Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990 and was a cultural phenomenon of error, as well as a powerhouse in the ring. He was convicted of rape in 1992 following accusations by 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.
Desiree Washington’s allegations led to Tyson’s conviction in rape trial
Trump called Mike Tyson a ‘great guy’
Trump accused Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif, whom he accused of making the transition. She denied it before and after her victory.
Trump praised Tyson while complaining about transgender men competing in women’s sports.
He mentioned Olympic wrestler Imane Khelif of Algeria, who defeated Italian wrestler Angela Carini after she abandoned their match after just 46 seconds. Khelif was under scrutiny after failing a gender eligibility test for a previous women’s boxing championship, although there are without indication She is transgender.
‘I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman. I lived a woman. I competed as a woman. There’s no doubt about that,” he said after his Olympic gold medal match.
Trump has regularly highlighted the issue of transgender sports at his rallies.
“You would be surprised to know that these two men who made the transition won gold medals,” Trump said.
“It’s so unfair, so ridiculous,” he said.
Trump has been delaying his ability to “target” his rallies and criticizing Harris as planned.
Speaking in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, he came under fire for talking about a possible shooter and the media, which he calls the “fake news.”
And to catch me, someone would have to spread the fake news. And I don’t care that much. “I don’t care about that,” Trump said.
Trump has long defended Tyson, including shortly after the 1992 verdict. “I am totally opposed to what happened, obviously. I am a firm believer in severe punishment,” Trump said at the time. “But we believe that, in this particular case, a lot more good can probably be done by having Mike Tyson pay substantial compensation to the victim subject to court approval and creating a room for people who were abused or raped in the state of Indiana.’
