United States President Donald has made it clear that he wishes for the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians to revert their franchise nicknames and logos back to the “Redskins” and “Indians” respectively.
“The Washington “Whatever’s” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social website.
Then, hours later, Trump addressed the topic again.
“My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. 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.
“Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”
Unfortunately for the President, it’s unlikely that either franchise acquiesces to his wishes, and now, one of the most prominent figures in sports media is letting Trump hear it over his statements.
“I think that the president’s being petty. I think it’s him being evasive… it’s just him catering to his base to make sure that he serves to appease them in some way, to distract them from other issues, including the Epstein files, by the way,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on Monday morning, per Awful Announcing.
“By the looks of the laws, and what has transpired on the books, it seems to be little to nothing that Trump can do about this other than make noise. But again, it does assist him in appealing to his base. We understand that.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Trump responds to Smith’s comments.