Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his political consultants have advised him to veer away from criticizing transgender athletes.

About 45 minutes into his speech at the America First Agenda Summit in Washington, DC, Trump remarked: “By the way, we should not allow men to play in women’s sports.”

The comment received raucous applause, which led the former president to pause his speech for close to 20 seconds to take in the audience’s reaction with a smile.

“So crazy. It just shows you what all of these political geniuses I have all of these consultants, all these great, great ‘Sir, don’t say that, it’s very controversial,'” he said.

He then said that his comment had not been “written down anywhere.”

“I just said it, thought it might be a good time,” Trump quipped, adding that the comment had earned him the “biggest hand” of the evening.

During his Tuesday speech, Trump also mocked trans weightlifters when he pretended to struggle to lift weights while onstage.

In the US, however, trans girls have been facing bans from girls’ sports in at least 10 states, per The New York Times. Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma are among the states that have moved to enact legislation to prevent trans girls and women from competing in female sports.