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UCLA’s national champion women’s basketball team was given an eyebrow-raising political dig by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
During a group interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday, a discussion with Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Angela Dugalić and trainer Cori Close turned political.
After Kimmel pointed out that former President Barack Obama made a social media post congratulating the team on their championship win, the host asked if President Donald Trump had reached out yet.
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The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team is honored at center court during a game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma Thunder at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 7, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The players answered “no” in response to Kimmel’s Trump question.
But then Kimmel steered the conversation deeper into an anti-Trump routine.
“I’m sure you know he’s busy. Um, he’s in two weeks, you’ll hear from him,” Kimmel said. “If you get invited to the White House and you decide to go to the White House, I have something for you.”
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Kimmel then pulled out a silver trophy that barely resembled the NCAA championship trophy sitting on his desk.
“What I want you to do is bring this fake trophy we made to the White House. He’s not going to know. But when you bring a trophy, sometimes he’ll take it and keep it for himself. So, it’s up to you to take it to the White House. And then you can say, ‘President Trump, we want you to have this.’ And he’ll be so happy. You’ll probably get an endowment, and you’ll be able to keep the real one,” Kimmel said.
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Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins looks on during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA Women’s National Basketball Championship at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Close laughed at Kimmel’s joke as the players lightly clapped hands and exchanged light laughs.
Meanwhile, social media users criticized Kimmel for turning the sports interview into a Trump-focused rant.
“Even when he celebrates their championship he has to make it about himself and his hate for Trump. What an a—hole,” wrote one X user.
One X user mocked Kimmel, writing: “What will he do when Trump is out of office? Is the show cooked?”
Another X user wrote: “This is funny, but I don’t like that he used them to punch naughty.”
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UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) reacts as he holds up the UCLA sticker after UCLA defeated Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Jessie Alcheh/AP)
UCLA won its first women’s basketball national championship in program history last weekend, defeating South Carolina Gamecocksthe team led by Dawn Staley, which had reached the national title game three consecutive seasons and won it in 2024, in dominant fashion, 79-51.
