If President Donald Trump had his way, the Washington Redskins would be opening their season against the New York Giants, not the Washington Commanders.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump made it clear he would never have changed the team’s name.
“Well, you want me to make a controversial statement? I would,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have changed the name. But that’s their — it just doesn’t have the same ring to me.”
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.”
Despite his personal preference to keep the name, Trump concedes that if the Commanders win, the new name will likely settle in with Washington fans, whether they like it or not.
“But, you know, winning can make everything sound good,” Trump added. “So, if they’re winning, all of a sudden, Commanders sounds good. But I wouldn’t have changed the name.”
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.
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