Trump’s Quirky Dance Moves Are Now a Sensation — on the Gridiron

Players are celebrating touchdowns or good plays by extending their arms and moving them robotically while bending their knees.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
President Trump dances during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on September 12, 2024, at Tucson. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

End zone celebrations have been a part of the NFL since New York Giants wide receiver Homer Jones first spiked a football during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1965. Since then, players have put plenty of imagination into their choreography after scoring a touchdown.

“The Ickey Shuffle” by Cincinnati running back Ickey Woods, “the Lambeau Leap,” at Green Bay, “the Prime Time” by Deion Sanders, “the Salsa” by Giants receiver Victor Cruz, the Atlanta Falcons’ iconic “Dirty Bird,” and more recently “The Griddy” by Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson are just a few. Now make room for “The Trump,” and celebration mimicking the quirky dance moves of President Trump.

If you watched enough football last weekend, you might have seen several players celebrating a touchdown or a good play by extending their arms and moving them robotically back and forth while bending their knees, not necessarily in rhythm. Trump’s unique dance moves were often on display during his campaign rallies leading up to his re-election, and are now being imitated on football fields across America.

Trump is taking notice. He tweeted a video of West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol doing the Trump Dance after an 8-yard touchdown run in the Mountaineers 31-24 victory at Cincinnati last Saturday. The redshirt sophomore from Chandler, Arizona, was joined by a few burly linemen who offered their version of the dance before heading to the sidelines.

Mr. Marchiol wasn’t the only college quarterback to get in on the growing phenomenon. Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, strutted the Trump Dance early in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns 49-17 romp over Florida at Austin.

Trump also sent a shout out to San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa who did his version of the Trump Dance after sacking Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield during the 49ers 23-20 victory Sunday.  Mr. Bosa, who was joined in the brief dance by teammates Leonard Floyd, Fred Warner, and Sam Okuayinonu, was fined $11,255 by the NFL for flashing a “Make America Great Again” hat while crashing a postgame interview on October 27.

“NICK BOSA IS A GREAT PLAYER,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Mr. Jones probably didn’t know that by spiking the football after scoring a touchdown he was setting a trend that would last for six decades and counting. Time will tell whether the Trump Dance replaces the Griddy as today’s most popular touchdown dance.


The New York Sun

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