US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the long-running row over the Atlanta Braves' "tomahawk chop", telling fans to keep performing the gesture at home games despite years of criticism that it stereotypes Native Americans. The intervention adds a political dimension to a sports tradition that has repeatedly drawn objections from Indigenous groups and commentators, while supporters defend it as a harmless expression of team spirit.

The chop, accompanied by a chant and drumbeat, has been a fixture at Braves games for decades but has faced sustained calls for it to be dropped, echoing similar disputes over Native American-themed names and imagery in US sports. The report also touches on wider debate about Trump's growing presence at sporting events, noting a CNN exchange in which reporter Sara Sidner asked UFC president Dana White whether the president's sports appearances resembled "authoritarian" tactics, a suggestion dismissed as "ridiculous" by commentator Emily Austin, who argued presidents have long attended sporting events to help unify the country.