Trump pledges to address Congress in taekwondo uniform after reelection

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to address Congress wearing a taekwondo uniform following his victory over Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, according to South Korean media.

The unusual promise, reportedly made to World Taekwondo Headquarters President Lee Dong-sup on Nov. 19, 2021, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, resurfaced Thursday. Lee recalled the moment, stating, “President-elect Trump promised at the time that if he succeeded in getting reelected, he would give a speech to Congress wearing the uniform.” South Korea’s Yonhap News, which first reported the story, also released a photo of Trump in a taekwondo uniform alongside Lee.

Trump’s victory over Harris, with a decisive 295 Electoral College votes, secured him a second, non-consecutive term as president. This makes Trump the first U.S. president in more than a century to win a second term after an interlude, following his initial tenure that ended in January 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.

During his first term, Trump actively engaged with the Korean Peninsula’s geopolitical landscape, holding three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. His renewed commitment to fostering “inter-Korean peace” was reiterated in discussions with Lee, who presented the president-elect with a taekwondo uniform as a gesture symbolizing peace and discipline.