Trump pressures Washington football team to restore its original name
The president threatened to put a restriction on the Washington Commanders if the team doesn’t restore its original name, which some critics argue is politically incorrect
by Summer Lane | July 21, 2025
President Donald Trump is using the platform of the Oval Office to pressure the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians to revert to their original team names, arguing that their “heritage and prestige” have been eliminated.
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,” Trump initially wrote on Sunday.
The president also called out the “Cleveland Indians,” an MLB team now known as the “Cleveland Guardians.”
“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 continued.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner weighed in on the political correctness of the Washington Commanders’ name change – which was initially implemented in 2019, according to CBS Sports – noting that he had once played for the NFL.
“I played in the NFL and was drafted by the Washington Redskins,” he wrote on X. “Not the ‘Washington Football Team’ or the ‘Commanders.’ @POTUS is right. It’s time to bring the Redskins’ name back.”
The president later added that he would block a new stadium deal for the NFL if the Commanders don’t revert to its original name, “The Washington Redskins.”
“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 explained.
He also said Cleveland should “do the same with the Cleveland Indians.”
Trump criticized the baseball team’s owner, Matt Dolan, for being “very political.”
Dolan has run for the U.S. Senate in the past.
“What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election,” Trump remarked. “Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”
Photo: Pixabay
