TIM HOWARD: My message to Christian Pulisic, Nick Bosa, Jon Jones and anyone doing the Donald Trump dance

Here’s my personal view: doing a dance that mimics Donald Trump is stupid. Why? Because, whether it’s the president of the United States or my neighbor down the street, I would never back someone who I believe is racist. I wouldn’t glorify that. I wouldn’t do it for anything.

If someone feels strongly the other way, no problem. But if you’re going to make a political statement then be bold and brash enough to stand behind it. Don’t go quiet and don’t plead innocence like Christian Pulisic.

The USMNT star became the latest athlete to perform the Trump dance after scoring against Jamaica this week. He later insisted: ‘It’s not a political dance. It was just for fun. I saw a bunch of people do it and I thought it was funny.’

I don’t buy that. Any show of support for Donald Trump is political. But Pulisic is not alone here, by the way.

We saw it in the NFL, when 49ers star Nick Bosa wore a MAGA hat and then initially tried to dodge questions about it. And we saw it in the UFC, when Jon Jones did the Trump dance in front of the president-elect after knocking out Stipe Miocic.

It didn’t take long for fans to discover that, until recently, Jones followed Kamala Harris on Instagram but not Trump. But, when he is ringside, Jones does the dance, hands over his belt and thanks Trump for coming to MSG.

Christian Pulisic recently became the latest athlete to perform the Donald Trump dance 

DailyMail.com columnist Tim Howard has no problem with players expressing their opinion

Jon Jones performed  Trump’s iconic dance moves in front of the president-elect at UFC 309

You cannot have it both ways. You’re on one side of this or the other. If you are bold enough to publicly make a statement, I don’t have a problem with that. But own it.

Pulisic is taking a lot of heat from soccer fans. It’s hardly surprising, given the USWNT has led the fight for equal pay, and inclusion, and LGBTQ+ rights. Players such as Megan Rapinoe have gone to war with Trump. Now the USMNT’s biggest star is doing his dance.

US Soccer must bear some of the responsibility for this. Yes, Pulisic is no kid. He is 26 and he has been this country’s prized asset for years. 

But, given the political and social landscape over the last four years, organizations need to educate players. To remind them that their words and actions matter. To teach them that everything they do and everything they say has to be thought through.

I don’t care that Trump frequently claims he is ‘the least racist person in the world’ or won the votes of more Black voters in November’s election than before. His actions over the decades are clear. 

He called for ‘a total and complete shutdown’ of Muslims entering the country in 2015. He taunted Barack Obama over his birth certificate. He has repeatedly been slow to condemn white supremacist groups. 

That’s why it’s difficult for me to see how this scenario has unfolded. A prominent player does a celebration that is deemed to be political by everyone – except them? US soccer has to stay ahead of the game: gather the players for a meeting, talk to them during training camp, send an email if you have to.

But most of all remind everyone: we just had an election, you might see these dances and you might score a goal this weekend. Have a think about how you might celebrate. 

Nick Bosa crashed NBC’s post-game interview of his teammates to show off a MAGA cap

If that’s still what Pulisic chooses to do, fine. But his explanation? That doesn’t wash. And that falls on the shoulders of US Soccer, too.

My last game for the national team was in 2017, when Trump had come to office but the chaos hadn’t yet come to a boil. 

So politics never caused any friction in my locker room. But we would go on the road – to Central America and our CONCACAF rivals – and experience a lot of American hate.

They would boo the national anthem and, during one game, opposition fans chanted for Osama Bin Laden. It doesn’t get more crazy and horrific than that. But all it ever did was band us players together. There was never a divide within the national team and politics never crept into the Premier League while I was there, either.

When the Rainbow Laces campaign started, for example, I remember Phil Neville – who was Everton captain then – and a PFA representative telling us: we’re wearing these. I wore them, other players didn’t. 

But It wasn’t this polarizing moment, which it always seems to be in America. No one made some huge statement on social media – or on the field. No one did a dance.

Since then, athletes have only got even richer and they know they can protect their assets by supporting a certain political party. I have a lot of friends who are very wealthy and they sold their soul to protect their money. 

I will ask them: do you care about the political climate that your child is growing up in?

They say they care but they’re willing to overlook stuff to make a better life for themselves. That’s fine. Support whoever you want, for whatever reason you like. But my message to Pulisic, Bosa, Jones and Co? Own it.