President Trump followed up a social media post urging the Washington Commanders to drop their new woke moniker and reclaim their former nickname, Redskins, with another post raising the possibility of placing restrictions on the Commanders’ ability to build their new stadium in D.C. if they don’t change their name.
“My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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)!”
Earlier on Sunday, Trump had posted his desire to see the “Washington Whatever’s” change their name, along with the team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians.
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” he wrote, “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!!!” he said.
The Washington Redskins, under then-owner Daniel Snyder, dropped the team’s 80+ year-old moniker after the George Floyd riots in 2020, but more specifically, after the recently deceased FedEx Founder and minority team owner, Fred Smith, expressed his desire for the name to be changed. Smith, in addition to being a minority owner, held the naming rights of the stadium where the Redskins played, FedEx Field.
The team spent two years being known simply as the Washington Football Team before rebranding to the Commanders in 2022.
While Commanders Owner Josh Harris has embraced the team’s past, in terms of uniform design, he has remained resistant to the idea of bringing back the name, Redskins.
“The Commanders’ name actually has taken on an amazing kind of element in our building,” Harris told Fox News’ Bret Baier in April. “So, the people that certain types of players that are tough, that love football, are delegated Commanders, and Jayden [Daniels], for example, is a Commander, and they’re ranked.
“And, you know, the business staff has gotten into it, and obviously, we’re in a military city here. There’s more military personnel than anywhere else, so we’re kind of moving forward with the Commanders name, excited about that, and not looking back.”
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