Trump Hosts the Champion Florida Gators: His 6-Foot-9 Son Says 'Dad, I'm Not That Tall' — 'Now, I Understand' (May 21, 2025)

President Donald Trump welcomed the national champion Florida Gators to the White House and found out what his tall son had been telling him. “You know, I have son who’s 6 foot 9. But 6 foot 9 is not—I now see—you know, he always says, ‘Dad, I’m not that tall compared to some of these guys,’ and now, I understand what he’s talking about,” Trump said in the East Room on May 21, 2025, as the room laughed, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“One of my guys said downstairs—he’s a big guy. He said, ‘These are the tallest human beings I’ve ever seen,’” Trump said [1].

The video above shows Trump with the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball champions on May 21, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project and FOX 13 [1][2].

”One for the History Books”

“Today, we’re delighted to welcome the 2025 NCAA basketball champions: The University of Florida Gators. Congratulations,” Trump said [1].

“The 2025 University of Florida basketball team was one for the history books,” he said. “You brought home the third national title in program history and made Florida the only Division I program ever to win three national titles in both basketball and football.” [1]

“And of course, there’s no bigger Florida fan than Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Is Marco here?” Trump asked. “And I see Marco’s son Anthony is a running back for the Gators’ football team.” [1]

He called up former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow from the crowd. “He’s a winner. Boy, he was a winner,” Trump said [1].

”Choke Time”

Trump recalled a comeback against South Carolina, with the Gators “trailing the Gamecocks 52 to 38.” Florida won 70 to 69 when senior guard Will Richard, with “just 5 seconds left on the clock,” drove “in hard to sink a game-winning layup,” Trump said [1].

“The Gators even set a new tournament scoring record when you beat Alabama 104 to 82,” Trump said of the SEC tournament [1].

When Tennessee cut a 13-point lead to five in the conference final, Trump joked: “Ooh, that’s called sometimes ‘choke time,’ Coach.” He added: “That’s never good, when you take that big lead and you’re all—you’re thinking about your victory speech, and you forget to play basketball.” [1]

“Down by nine with under four minutes left, Florida responded with a furious rally led by sophomore Thomas Haugh, who made back-to-back three pointers,” Trump said of the Elite Eight against Texas Tech [1].

”Lesser Teams Would Have Crumbled”

Trump walked through the run to the title, which ended with a 65-63 win over Houston. “On Houston’s final possession, the Gators clamped down, pressured the ball—that’s right; I saw that game. That was a crazy game. And forced a turnover,” he said [1].

“Great coaching. Lesser teams would have crumbled. That was a hell of a game,” Trump said [1].

He asked guard Alijah Martin, who sank two late free throws, if he had been nervous. “Nah. No chance,” Martin said, to laughter. “No chance.” [1]

“Since Larry Bird”

Trump praised star guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 34 points against Auburn in the Final Four. Clayton “became the first player since Larry Bird—how good was Larry Bird?—in 1979 to score 30 points or more in both the Elite Eight and the Final Four,” Trump said [1].

When Trump joked that Clayton was already rich, Clayton answered, “Not yet.” Coach Todd Golden said Clayton would be “playing in the NBA next year.” [1]

“We’re a Meritocracy”

Golden thanked the president. “Mr. President, I like to think of our program similarly to how you think of the United States. We’re a meritocracy. All right? We work really, really hard,” he said [1].

“No matter what you look like or where you come from, if you put the team first and win, we’re going to play you,” Golden said [1].

“We had guys that were willing to play together, sacrifice individual stats and records for the greater good of the group, and it led us to a 36-and-4 record and a trip to the White House,” the coach said [1].

The team gave Trump an autographed ball and a jersey with the number 47. “Thank you, Coach. That’s great. Wow,” Trump said [1].

“I think the most exciting room anywhere in the world is called the Oval Office, and I’m going to invite the coach and the team down to the Oval Office,” Trump said. “And I have a special little coin for them, a really nice coin.” [1]

By the Numbers

3: national basketball titles for Florida, per Trump [1].
65-63: the championship-game score against Houston, per Trump [1].
36-4: the Gators’ record, per Golden [1].
6 foot 9: the height of Trump’s son, per Trump [1].

What Happened Next

Clayton went in the first round. “On Wednesday night, the Washington Wizards took Clayton with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. The Wizards then traded his draft rights to the Jazz,” FOX 13 reported on June 26, 2025 [2].

He “averaged 17.2 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game during his senior season, and was named a first-team All-American,” FOX 13 reported [2].

For Trump and the Super Bowl champion Eagles a month earlier, see HYGO News’ page on April 28, 2025. For Trump at the University of Alabama commencement, see the page on May 1, 2025.