❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump has threatened to block a stadium deal for the Washington Commanders unless the team reverts to its original name, the Redskins.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Donald Trump, the Washington Commanders, the NFL, and Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Trump’s comments were posted on Truth Social on Sunday, referencing a proposed new stadium at the RFK Stadium site in Washington, D.C.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original Washington Redskins and get rid of the ridiculous moniker Washington Commanders I won’t make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington.” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: Trump’s comments have reignited debate over team name changes and their cultural significance, while also pressuring local officials on the stadium project.
President Donald J. Trump has threatened to block the Washington Commanders’ proposed new stadium unless the team reverts to its former name, the Redskins. In a post shared on July 20 on Truth Social, Trump said there’s a “big clamouring” for the name to change back, calling the current title “ridiculous.”
“I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington,” Trump wrote. “The team would be much more valuable and the deal would be more exciting for everyone.”
The NFL franchise abandoned the Redskins name in July 2020 after years of left-wing heckling that it was offensive to Native Americans. The team temporarily went by the Washington Football Team before officially rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
In April, a deal was struck to build a new 65,000-seat stadium on the site of the old RFK Stadium, which served as the team’s home from 1961 to 1997.
Trump also referenced the Cleveland Guardians in his Truth Social post, encouraging Major League Baseball’s team to return to its former name, the Cleveland Indians, which was retired in 2021. “Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,” he wrote. “Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Guardians president Chris Antonetti said: “Not something I’m tracking or paying a lot of attention to. But I would say generally, I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago. It’s a decision we made and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years, and we’re excited about the future.”
Earlier this year, Trump made headlines when he became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. He was present at the February matchup, where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40–22.
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