Trump draws laughs when defining a ‘woman’ — until he touches on a serious issue

President Donald Trump drew laughs from the press when one reporter asked him to define what a woman is. Trump was speaking at a news conference after Alina Habba, a longtime member of his team, was sworn-in as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. 

The reporter who asked the question first said that Trump had done “so much for women” before listing women who have powerful roles in the Trump administration, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Attorney General Pam Bondi. He then asked, “Since Democrats seemed to struggle answering this question, I want to ask you, what is a woman and why is it important that we understand the difference between men and women?”

The room quickly erupted in laughter as Trump said that the question was “easy” to answer.

“A woman is somebody, they can have a baby under certain circumstances. She has equality. A woman is a person who is much smarter than a man, I’ve always found. A woman is a person that doesn’t give a man even a chance of success,” Trump said.

While the reporters in the room chuckled, Trump took the opportunity to take the question in a serious direction and addressed the issue of transgender athletes playing in women’s sports.

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a swearing-in ceremony for Alina Habba as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2025.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

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“And a woman is a person that in many cases has been treated very badly. Because I think that what happens with this crazy, this crazy issue of men being able to play in women’s sports is just ridiculous and very unfair to women, and very demeaning to women,” Trump said, shifting the tone of the news conference. 

Trump referenced a Democrat lawmaker, without naming who it was, fighting to keep transgender athletes in women’s sports. The president joked that he hopes Democrats keep arguing for the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports “because they’ll never win another election.”

U.S. President Donald Trump joined by women athletes signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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The Trump administration has taken swift action in combating gender ideology. Trump signed an order specifically addressing the issue of trans athletes in women’s sports. The order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” prohibits educational institutions that receive federal funds from allowing trans athletes to compete against women.

Additionally, Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This order made it official policy that the U.S. government only recognizes two genders: male and female.

Demonstrators listen to the speaking program during an “Our Bodies, Our Sports” rally for the 50th anniversary of Title IX at Freedom Plaza on June 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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The U.S. Department of Education recently took action on this issue and launched an investigation of the California Department of Education over alleged violations of the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) after a new California law went into effect that bars schools from disclosing a child’s “gender identity” to their parents. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom spokesperson Elana Ross told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday, “Parents continue to have full, guaranteed access to their student’s education records, as required by federal law.”

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As Trump concluded his answer to the question, he said, “Women are, basically, incredible people, do so much for our country. And we love our women and we’re going to take care of our women.”

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this article.