Goals and glory usually bring Christian Pulisic into the limelight, but last month he made headlines for a rather different reason. The USMNT star, who scored in his side’s win over Jamaica in the November window for the CONCACAF Nations League, celebrated with a Donald Trump dance. While it continues to spark countless political discussions surrounding the forward, Pulisic has once again stepped in to clarify that the new POTUS-inspired iconic dance ‘wasn’t any kind of statement in any way.’

After scoring the goal to put his side ahead within 13 minutes, the AC Milan forward sprinted to the corner, jumped into the air, extended his arms, swiveled his hips, and performed hand gestures at waist level. While after the game, Pulisic clarified that the dance was done merely for “fun,” even a few weeks later, his stance hasn’t changed a bit.

“I honestly don’t feel any differently now than when I did it,” he said during an interview with The Athletic. “To me, it was a viral dance trend, (the type of which) I’ve done multiple times in my career. Whether it’s a dab or a funny other dance that people still make fun of me for because my dancing skills aren’t very good, I don’t feel any type of way about it.”

The problem was the timing; the whole US was busy talking about the race for the presidential seat between Donald Trump and Kamla Harris. While Trump won the elections, many assumed that Pulisic’s dance meant the 26-year-old was expressing his support for the Republican Party leader. Then again, it was all a misunderstanding.

“It wasn’t any kind of statement in any way. It was just a fun trend that I was doing. Anyone who looks more into it should really just not because it’s just not there,” added Pulisic, again stressing that it wasn’t more than a fun way to celebrate his goal.

Of course, Pulisic isn’t the pioneer of this dance. Renowned MMA fighter Jon Jones famously showcased the move during a UFC heavyweight main event. Jones performed the dance in front of Donald Trump, who was in attendance at Madison Square Garden, following his third-round knockout of Stipe Miocic.

That’s not all, as several NFL stars had also embraced the move, including the Las Vegas Raiders’ tight end Brock Bowers, who openly admitted being inspired by UFC champion Jones. While such admission still kept him in a skeptical light, a USMNT icon had earlier come in support of Pulisic.

USMNT icon came in support of Christian Pulisic over Donald Trump celebration

While some fans viewed Pulisic’s Trump-inspired celebration positively, others expressed frustration and distanced themselves from the former Borussia Dortmund star. However, Alexi Lalas was quick to jump to Pulisic’s defense. The former defender took to X (formerly Twitter) with an enthusiastic post, stating, “Pulisic scores. Pulisic does the Trump dance. We’re winning the World Cup…bigly,” along with a collage of Pulisic’s celebration.

Lalas didn’t stop there. When a fan later questioned him, saying, “Hey @AlexiLalas how will you handle not being the most hated Trump-supporting American soccer player?!” Lalas replied confidently, “I’m comfortable being the OG. Plenty of room. Besides, it’s not only easy now, it’s even becoming cool.”

It’s no surprise that Lalas, a vocal Donald Trump supporter who actively campaigned for the former president during the summer, would stand by Pulisic. Nevertheless, Pulisic’s own honest clarification should help dispel the negativity surrounding his celebration.