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UCLA’s national champion women’s basketball team was given an eyebrow-raising political quest by late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
During a group interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Tuesday, a discussion with Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Angela Dugalić and coach 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 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. “In the event that you do get invited to the White House and you decide to go to the White House, I have something for you.”
Kimmel then pulled out a silver trophy that hardly resembled the NCAA championship trophy that sat on his desk.
“What I want you to do is bring this fake trophy we’ve made to the White House. He’s not going to know. But when you bring a trophy, he sometimes takes it and keeps it for himself. So, this is for you guys to take 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 watches during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Close laughed at Kimmel’s joke, while the players lightly clapped their hands, exchanging light laughs.
Meanwhile, social media users criticized Kimmel for turning the sports interview into a Trump-focused rant.
“Even celebrating their championship he has to make it about himself and his hatred for Trump. What an a—hole,” one X user wrote.
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 dislike that he used them to smite the frump.”
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UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) reacts while holding up the UCLA bracket sticker after UCLA defeats 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 this past weekend, defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks, the team led by Dawn Staley that had reached the national title game three consecutive seasons and won it in 2024, in dominant fashion, 79-51.
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