White House says Trump serious about wanting Commanders to revert to Redskins
nfl
A day after Donald Trump threatened to hold up a deal for a new football stadium in the nation's capital if the Washington Commanders did not go back to the name Redskins, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president's comments were not a joke.
'The president was serious,' Leavitt told reporters Monday while answering questions on the White House driveway. 'Sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see the name of that team changed.'
Asked why he's getting involved, Leavitt called Trump a 'nontraditional president" and said sports fans are behind him on this.
'I think you've seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not,' Leavitt said. 'He's a nontraditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people and, if you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country, and even in this city, people actually do support the president's position on this and the name change.'
After Congress passed a bill late last year to transfer land from the federal government to the District of Columbia, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the team reached an agreement in April to build on the site of the old RFK Stadium. That is still pending approval by the Council of the District of Columbia.
'I think the thing that we should focus on in D.C. is doing our part,' Bowser said. 'I have worked for the better part of 10 years to get our part completed, including getting control of the land, coming to an agreement with the team and advancing a fantastic agreement to the council, so we need to do our part.'
Dan Snyder, who had said multiple times as owner since 1999 that he would never change the name, did so in July 2020 after facing mounting pressure from sponsors and critics. Washington Football Team was used for two seasons before Commanders was unveiled as the permanent name in early 2022.
Josh Harris, whose group bought the team from Snyder in 2023, said earlier this year the Commanders name was here to stay.
Savannah Romero, co-founder and deputy director of the Black Liberation-Indigenous Sovereignty Collective, said in a statement Monday responding to Trump that 'Native Americans are not mascots.'
"To equate Native people with cartoonish mascots alongside animals is a gross and ongoing tactic of dehumanization,' said Romero, who is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Nation.
A spokesperson for the National Congress of American Indians said the organization was working on finalizing a statement.
At least one organization, the Native American Guardians Association, has filed petitions to bring back the Redskins and Cleveland Indians names.
A handful of fans who were asked by The Associated Press for their opinion generally dismissed Trump's comments. Ender Tuncay, who grew up in the Washington area and returns to visit family, called it 'typical Trump stupidity.'
'It's just him focusing on things that aren't consequential and trying to distract from the actual issues that are going on,' Tuncay said, adding he does not care what the name is. 'But I'd like them to get the new stadium, for sure. I like this site where it is. My parents used to tell me stories of how great RFK was back when we were really, really good.'
Ford Flemmings, who worked as a vendor at the old RFK Stadium, said everyone is on the bandwagon with the name Commanders now that they are winning.
'I liked Washington when it was just plain Washington,' Flemmings said. 'If they change their name, so be it. I'll still be a Washington, whatever the Washington team is.'
AP White House reporter Darlene Superville and video journalist River Zhang contributed.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
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Nikkei Asia
an hour ago
- Nikkei Asia
Thai-Cambodia clashes live: Trump seeks ceasefire, calls both sides
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BOT will continue to monitor the situation closely," she said. 1 p.m. Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, spokesperson of Thailand's ad hoc center for the border situation, told reporters that as of 8:30 a.m., the Cambodian forces continued to use heavy weapons to attack the front lines and rear areas, affecting civilians. Clashes have been reported in 12 locations, according to Surasant. 12:40 p.m. Thailand's Interior Ministry said it had evacuated 100,672 civilians from the four provinces affected by the cross-border clashes with Cambodia. A total of 56,000 people were moved in Surin province, 17,196 in Sisaket, 17,000 in Buriram and 10,476 people in Ubon Ratchathari. 12:30 p.m. The Thai armed forces said it believes Hun Sen, the former Cambodian prime minister, is behind the attack on civilian targets, calling for international organizations to investigate. "Targeting civilians with intent is a war crime, and those responsible must be brought to justice," Maj. Gen. 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Thailand and Cambodia are not parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the production, use and stockpiling of cluster munitions. 10:15 a.m. Indonesia's foreign ministry said that the country was closely following the development. "We are confident that the two neighboring countries will immediately return to peaceful means to settle their differences in line with the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation," it said in a social media post. 10 a.m. Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Chhum Socheat said on Friday that firing continued overnight but the intensity of shelling was less than the previous day. He also claimed that the Thai military was using surveillance drones in Preah Vihear province. "At around 2 a.m., shots were fired from both sides along the border," Socheat said. "There has been an exchange of fire from last night until this morning. Our soldiers are in control and protecting all areas, but the Thais are still trying to fly drones to shoot at our areas." Chhum Socheat did not comment on whether there were any casualties among civilians and military personnel. However, Met Measpheakdey, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province -- where firing was reported on Thursday -- said one civilian was killed and five others injured. Thailand's Second Army Area, which is leading the fighting along the Thai border, also said clashes continued on Friday. 7:50 a.m. The deputy spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Health, Varoth Chotpitayasunondh, has posted updated Thai casualty figures on his Facebook account. He said 13 civilians and one soldier were killed and 32 civilians and 14 soldiers injured.
Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan, U.S. ministers reached trade agreement in mid-June: sources
TOKYO - Japan's chief negotiator reached an agreement with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in mid-June on a deal offering massive Japanese investment in the United States in exchange for a reduction in tariffs, sources close to the matter said Saturday. Over the following month, Japan focused on convincing U.S. President Donald Trump through Lutnick of the advantages of the agreement, with the proposal of expanding imports of U.S.-grown rice used as the final bargaining chip. The trade deal, announced by Trump on July 23, includes tariffs on Japanese cars set at 15 percent -- lower than the 27.5 percent that was to have been levied -- in exchange for $550 billion of Japanese investment in the United States. During the course of the negotiations, which spanned around three months from mid-April, Japan identified Lutnick as the only person who could communicate "directly and on a deep level" with Trump due to their close friendship of over 30 years, and directed its efforts on him, according to one of the sources. Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, built trust with Lutnick not only through in-person talks but also through dozens of phone calls, the source said. Believing that Lutnick placed a high priority on economic security amid China concerns, Japan emphasized its willingness to contribute to strengthening U.S. domestic supply chains and eventually reached an understanding with him. Trump, however, maintained a hardline stance even in late June, venting frustration that Japan does not import significant amounts of American cars and rice. "I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it," he had said, while demanding additional concessions in exchange for lowering tariffs. The tide turned on July 22 immediately following Japan's upper house election. A sudden meeting was arranged for the following day between Trump and Akazawa, who was in Washington for an eighth round of talks. Akazawa and Lutnick began to "rehearse" in preparation for the talks, with Lutnick suggesting that a total investment of $400 billion be proposed in the expectation that Trump would ask for $500 billion. A board was prepared by U.S. officials to clearly show Trump how much Japan would investment. But Trump demanded even more, leaving Akazawa no choice but to agree to $550 billion. A senior official of the prime minister's office acknowledged that the deal does not align with World Trade Organization rules or the Japan-U.S. trade agreement that took effect in January 2020, but also conceded that Trump "is a president who genuinely believes in protecting his country through tariffs."
