In a candid moment in late April, and a move that should surprise no one, former US President Donald Trump expressed his preference for the original Redskins moniker of the Washington Commanders, calling it a "much superior name" compared to their current one.
On May 5, despite his earlier remarks, Trump hosted Commanders owner Josh Harris at the White House to celebrate Washington, DC being chosen as the host city for the 2027 NFL Draft. The President also reserved special praise for the team's quarterback. Harris presented Trump with a special gift: a Commanders jersey, dubbing him the "Ultimate Commander."
"We leave on your desk a President Trump Washington Commanders jersey," said the 60-year-old team owner. "You are the ultimate Commander, so, there's your Commanders jersey. There's no bird on it, but we do appreciate you and thank you for everything you've done, and look forward to the future."
The Washington team had initially changed its name from Redskins to 'Washington Football Team' in 2020 before adopting the Commanders title in 2022, which was a year prior to Harris's involvement with the franchise.
"I think it's degrading to the Indian population, and it's a great population, and they like it when they're called by various names," Trump bizarrely commented to White House correspondents on April 24, regarding the trend of sports teams changing their names.
"Now Washington, the Redskins, perhaps that's a little different, but I can tell you that I spoke to people of Indian heritage who love that name and love that team, and I think it's a much superior name to what they have right now and it had heritage behind it, it had something special."
Trump, however, was all smiles in front of Harris, 60, on Monday. Harris grew his wealth as the founder of private equity firm Apologgo Global Management and parlayed it into a diverse sports portfolio. His new company, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, holds majority stakes in the NFL's Commanders, the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, and the NHL's New Jersey Devils.
Trump appears to be closely following his progress in DC. "I have to say that Josh had a very good [NFL] draft a short while ago," he said. "[And] you have a very good quarterback (Jayden Daniels), a great quarterback, I think."
Daniels, the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, turned Washington from a 4-13 doormat to a playoff team with a stellar NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year-worthy campaign.
In the playoffs, he spearheaded road upsets of both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions to lead Washington to the organization's first NFC Championship Game in over 30 years.
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Donald Trump gift from Commanders is especially awkward after recent comments – The Mirror US
