Donald Trump must not be feeling himself today as he has not only pleaded with another country’s leader to protect the Iran National women’s soccer team, but he’s even gone as far as offering the women asylum in the U.S. too.
The president has been pretty ruthless when it comes to allowing people to stay in America, even people who were born in the U.S. have found themselves at risk of being hassled by ICE. So it seems very out of character for Trump to be offering asylum, especially to people from a country America is at war with and yet here we are.
Donald Trump suddenly cares
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran,” Trump stated in a post on Truth Social. He claimed that sending the women back would most likely lead to them being killed and said Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, should give the women asylum or else the U.S. would.
Trump’s post confused many, and unfortunately for him, people weren’t exactly buying into the idea that he suddenly cared about women. “[W]e’re supposed to pretend Trump cares about women after he murdered over 100 Iranian school girls in a double tap strike[?]” asked one person on X. Another pointed to the president’s alleged abuse of women and girls in the past, including his alleged activities with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
What happened to the Iran National Women’s Soccer team?
According to an article from The Guardian, the Soccer team were at risk of punishment in their home country after refusing to sing their national anthem during their opening game in Australia. The controversial move resulted in the women being branded as “traitors” back home which led to concerns over their safety should they return.
It was speculated for days that the women would seek asylum in Australia and Trump urged the PM to let them stay. After his initial post to Truth Social, the president claimed to have spoke with Albanese, writing, “He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.” which seemingly confirmed that the women were going to be granted asylum in the country rather than being forced to return to Iran.
However, Trump also revealed that some of the team felt “they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.” It’s not clear what could happen to those who return to Iran but there are “grave concerns” for the team.
Published: Mar 9, 2026 03:34 pm