Donald Trump gave the country another cringeworthy moment to wince at. Cameras captured him reaching again for hardware that wasn’t his.
Trump once again straddled the line between presidential embarrassment and a display his unscripted charm no one asked for.
The moment occurred during a White House visit by the Montana State University football team on July 29, when the freshly crowned FCS National Champions arrived dressed to the nines for a Rose Garden reception.
Trump stood in front of the players, all dark suits and gold rings, when he got handed something he’s always wanted.
He admired the team’s championship ring, so much so he examined it in his hand, smiling, clearly enjoying the weight of it.
Then the player said something that seemed to set things off: “You have to take the top off.”
That’s when Trump abruptly spun around and started walking in the other direction with the ring in his hand.
The crowd paused with a mix of nervous laughter and disbelief as people tried to process if he was joking or not.
“So beautiful,” added Trump, just before he turned back around clearly embarrassed the everyone noticed what he was up to.
He handed the ring back to the player who told him again, “You have to take the top off.” Trump asked, “What’s in there?”
🚨 NOW: Hilarious moment as President Trump TAKES and WALKS AWAY with the Montana State University FCS National Championship ring, right to their faces
They love 47 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/RyhDhb4kbF
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 29, 2026
The player allowed him to take one last look inside before Trump gave him a friendly pat on the elbow, as if to say, “Good sport or good boy.”
Video of the exchange hit X and prompted many to weigh in.
“Wait, wait did he just snatch that ring?? like no chill at all lol what even Montana State doing there? Wildsss,” one user joked.
Another asked, “Did he actually keep it or was he just joking around with the team?” “He really said ‘mine now,’” a third person quipped.
Many argued that Trump has tried to claim nearly every award he’s encountered, calling his behavior childish and likening his maturity to that of a “kindergartener.”
It spoke to a pattern of Trump swiping things that are not his or meant for him.
“There is nothing he won’t try to steal. Remember when he was sent to military school for throwing rocks at a baby in a playpen?” one person remarked.
“Hilarious moment as President Trump TAKES and WALKS AWAY with the Montana State University FCS National Championship ring, right to their faces. They love 47,” conservative influencer Eric Daugherty tweeted.
This is not a new gag.
Just rewind to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Trump was filmed slipping a medal into his suit jacket pocket at MetLife Stadium moments after Chelsea dismantled Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final.
The gesture was meant as a joke, but clips of the moment spread quickly. Many viewers became convinced he had swiped a player’s medal outright.
The real story was more nuanced. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had actually handed Trump his own commemorative medal while he presented the Chelsea squad with theirs. Even so, that explanation did little to stop the online backlash.
Making matters worse, Trump also kept the tournament’s original Tiffany & Co.-crafted trophy in the Oval Office instead of returning it.
He later told broadcaster DAZN that FIFA had informed him he could “have it forever.”
Then there’s the Team USA hockey celebration at the White House in February. Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk fed Trump’s ego by letting him try on his Olympic gold medal from the Milan Cortina Games.
“Yeah, absolutely. I’m not giving it back,” Trump joked as he slipped it over his neck.”
Tkachuk fired back, “I’ll trade you that for a pen,” which as a dig as Trump.
People on social media find his gold medal obsession hilarious and juvenile. Most have stopped asking whether Trump will steal the spotlight, now only wondering how.
That irony inspired a viral AI-generated image of Trump in a gymnastics leotard, posing as though Simone Biles had just awarded him a gold medal.
Most recently, on July 19, at this year’s World Cup final, POTUS inserted himself into Spain’s championship celebration.
He lingered onstage for Spain’s celebration until Infantino finally steered him off the dais. He didn’t leave with a medal, but he got the next best thing: another photo op.
From rings to medals to trophies, the throughline never changes: Trump reaches for things that were never his — less funny each time, harder to laugh off as just a joke.
