Trump
Guardians Respond To Trump’s Call For Restoring Old Name
unbranded - Sport / VideoElephant
US president Donald Trump has called on American football team the Washington Commanders to change its name back to the ‘Washington Redskins’ – an “offensive” and “insulting” slur for Native Americans - as he continues to face pressure over his administration's handling of the Epstein files.
In a piece for The Independent published in August 2019, Native American writer Angelina Newsom wrote that “redskins” is a “derogatory term coined by colonialists often historically used interchangeably with ‘savages’”.
The Washington Redskins confirmed in July 2020 that they would change their name to the “Washington Football Team”, and then rebranded to the Washington Commanders in 2022.
And Trump isn’t happy about that.
On Sunday, he took to Truth Social and wrote: “The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this.
“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.
“Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”
Trump also called for the Cleveland Guardians to revert to its former name of the Cleveland Indians - though the team's president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, has since dismissed the president's demands.
"I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but 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 that’s in front of us," Antonetti said.
Then, not long after issuing his initial remarks, the US president decided to double down in a follow-up post, claiming his last statement had “totally blown up” but “only in a very positive way”.
He continued: “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.
“The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone … Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”
Trump’s comments have since raised eyebrows online, with one Twitter/X user writing that “Americans are begging Trump to address soaring grocery and housing costs” while the president is talking about football teams:
Republicans Against Trump attacked Trump’s threat over the stadium deal, asking, “how is this legal?”:
Another asked “what century are we in?”:
There were also those who pointed out the timing of Trump’s latest complaint, as he continues to face pressure over the Epstein files:
One user described it as an attempt by Trump to “get the press to move on from the Epstein story”, saying it’s “page 1 of the Trump playbook”:
Trump’s rant over the Washington Commanders isn’t the only thing to be considered a ‘distraction’ from the Epstein files, as the Republican also faced criticism over the weekend for sharing an AI-generated video of former president Barack Obama being arrested by FBI agents in the Oval Office.
Yes, really.
Why not read…
- Musk hits Trump with tirade of strongest Epstein files criticism yet
- Every time Donald Trump has attempted to claim something is a 'hoax'
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