Latest news with #Redskins
Fox News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DC official weighs in on Trump's push to have Commanders change nickname back to Redskins
President Donald Trump threw a curveball into the NFL world over the weekend when he threatened to put the Washington Commanders' RFK Stadium site in jeopardy if they didn't change its name back to the Redskins. Phil Mendelson, the Washington, D.C., Council chairman, suggested to 106.7 The Fan in D.C. on the "Grant & Danny" show he would have "no problem" with a potential name change. "He suggested the past DC opposition of the team moving back into the city while named Redskins had more to do with Dan Snyder than the name," radio host Grant Paulsen wrote about Mendelson. "Suggested he would have no problem with DC welcoming the team back with the name Redskins now." It appeared to be the latest nod of support for the move since Trump fired off two Truth Social posts over the weekend about the nickname. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, who played for the Redskins, backed the move on Sunday. "The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote first. "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!!!" Then, he threatened to put the Commanders' deal to take over the old RFK Stadium site in jeopardy if they didn't revert to the name. "My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way," Trump wrote in a second Truth Social post. "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." Daniel Snyder changed Washington's team name from the Washington Redskins to the Washington Football Team before the start of the 2020 season amid a summer of racial tensions. The team eventually became the Washington Commanders, and Snyder sold the team to Josh Harris. Harris said on Fox News Channel's "Special Report" in April that the team would not bring back the Redskins name even with plans to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C. "The Commanders' name actually has taken on an amazing kind of element in our building," Harris responded to Bret Baier's question about the Redskins name coming back as part of this new stadium deal. "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."
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Trump Likes Renaming Things. He's Not The First To Deploy That Perk Of Power
History, it has been said, is written by the winners. President Donald Trump is working that lever of power - again. This time, he's insisting that Washington's NFL team change its name from the Commanders back to the Redskins, a name that was considered offensive to Native Americans. Predictably, to Trump's stated delight, an internet uproar ensued. It's a return to the president's favorite rebranding strategy, one well-used around the world and throughout history. Powers-that-be rename something - a body of water, a mountain in Alaska, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Mumbai, various places in Israel after 1948 - in line with "current" political and cultural views. Using names to tell a leader's own version of the nation's story is a perk of power that Trump is far from the first to enjoy. A name, after all, defines identity and even reality because it is connected to the verb "to be," says one brand strategist. "A parent naming a child, a founder naming a company, a president naming a place ... in each example, we can see the relationship of power," Shannon Murphy, who runs Nameistry, a naming agency that works with companies and entrepreneurs to develop brand identities, said in an email. "Naming gives you control." In Trump's case, reviving the debate over the Washington football team's name had the added effect of distraction. "My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way," he wrote on his social media platform, adding a threat to derail the team's deal for a new stadium if it resisted. In fact, part of the reaction came from people noting that Trump's proposed renaming came as he struggled to move past a rebellion among his supporters over the administration's refusal to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation. Over about two weeks, Trump had cycled through many tactics - downplaying the issue, blaming others, scolding a reporter, insulting his own supporters, suing the Wall Street Journal and finally authorizing the Justice Department to try to unseal grand jury transcripts. Trump's demand that the NFL and the District of Columbia change the team's name back to a dictionary definition of a slur against Native Americans reignited a brawl in miniature over race, history and the American identity. Trump's reelection itself can be seen as a response to the nation's reckoning with its racial history after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. That year, Americans elected Democratic President Joe Biden, who championed diversity. During his term, Washington's football team became first the Washington Football Team, then the Commanders, at a widely estimated cost in the tens of millions of dollars. And in 2021, The Cleveland Indians became the Cleveland Guardians. In 2025, Trump has ordered a halt to diversity, equity and inclusion programs through the federal government, universities and schools, despite legal challenges. And he wants the Commanders' name changed back, though it's unclear if he has the authority to restrict the nearly $4 billion project. What's clear is that names carry great power where business, national identity, race, history and culture intersect. Trump has had great success for decades branding everything from buildings he named after himself to the Gulf between Mexico, Cuba and the United States to his political opponents and people he simply doesn't like. Exhibit A: Florida's governor, dubbed by Trump "Meatball Ron" DeSantis, who challenged him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. And Trump is not the first leader to use monikers and nicknames - branding, really - to try to define reality and the people who populate it. Naming was a key tool of colonisation that modern-day countries are still trying to dislodge. "Naming," notes one expert, "is never neutral." "To name is to collapse infinite complexity into a manageable symbol, and in that compression, whole worlds are won or lost," linguist Norazha Paiman wrote last month on Medium. "When the British renamed places throughout India or Africa, they weren't just updating maps," Paiman wrote. "They were restructuring the conceptual frameworks through which people could relate to their own territories." Trump's order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is perhaps the best-known result of Executive Order 14172, titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness." The renaming sent mapmakers, search engines and others into a flurry over whether to change the name. And it set off a legal dispute with The Associated Press over First Amendment freedoms that is still winding through the courts. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. It's unclear if Trump's name will stick universally - or go the way of "freedom fries," a brief attempt by some in the George W. Bush-era GOP to rebrand french fries after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But there's evidence that at least for business in some places, the "Gulf of America" terminology has staying power. Chevron's earnings statements of late have referred to the Gulf of America, because "that's the position of the US government now," CEO Mike Wirth said during a Jan. 31 call with investors. And along the Gulf Coast in Republican Louisiana, leaders of the state's seafood industry call the body of water the Gulf of America, in part, because putting that slogan on local products might help beat back the influx of foreign shrimp flooding American markets, the Louisiana Illuminator news outlet reported. The racial reckoning inspired by Floyd's killing rippled across the cultural landscape. Quaker retired the Aunt Jemima brand after it had been served up at America's breakfast tables for 131 years, saying it recognised that the character's origins were "based on a racial stereotype." Eskimo Pies became Edy's. The Grammy-winning country band Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A, saying they were regretful and embarrassed that their former moniker was associated with slavery. And Trump didn't start the fight over football. Democratic President Barack Obama, in fact, told The Associated Press in 2013 that he would "think about changing" the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team. Trump soon after posted to Twitter: "President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense." Fast-forward to July 20, 2025, when Trump posted that the Washington Commanders should change their name back to the Redskins. "Times," the president wrote, "are different now."
The Hill
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump mixes sports and politics with Commanders name fight
President Trump has reignited the debate over the Washington Commanders team name, the latest example of the president using sports in his second term to expand his influence and impact on culture. Trump upended what appeared to be a settled issue when he threatened to use the power of the presidency to hold up the Commanders' plans to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C., if the team did not revert to the Redskins name it retired in 2020. While it came as a surprise to local leaders and team officials, it was yet another instance of Trump wading into sports for political purposes. 'Sports is one of the many passions of this president, and he wants to see the name of that team changed,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. 'I think you've seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not. He's a nontraditional president.' The president has hosted championship hockey and baseball teams at the White House in his first six months in office. He has attended the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl, college wrestling championships, Ultimate Fighting Championship events and the FIFA Club World Cup championship. Trump met in the Oval Office with members of Italian soccer club Juventus and the Boston Red Sox, taking credit when the latter team went on a winning streak after the meeting. The president also was at the center of an announcement that Washington will host the NFL draft in 2027. He was joined by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders owner Josh Harris. One source close to the White House noted Trump is a longtime sports fan and a former owner of the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League, which folded after three seasons. Trump's interest in sports helps broaden his political appeal, the source argued, pointing to his 2023 stop at an Iowa State University fraternity where he threw footballs into the crowd, and his game of catch with baseball legend Mariano Rivera to mark the start of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. But Trump's focus on sports has expanded into the policy arena during his second term. Blocking transgender women from competing in men's sports was a defining campaign promise for Trump in 2024. Within weeks of taking office, Trump signed an executive order following through on that pledge. The president has spoken frequently about the United States's role as a host for next year's FIFA World Cup, convening a task force to help plan for the logistically complex event that will put a spotlight on transportation infrastructure and the visa system to allow visiting fans and players into the country. Trump's latest sports-related focus is on the Washington Commanders team name, an issue he has shared his opinion on dating back to 2013, when he scolded then-President Obama for weighing in on the controversial Redskins name. It is also in line with Trump's broader war against what he deems to be 'woke' or politically correct culture, something that has been a major focus of his first six months in office. Trump has in recent days demanded in comments to reporters and in posts on social media that the Commanders change their name back to the Redskins. If the team does not act — and ownership has repeatedly said the issue is settled — Trump has threatened to get in the way of a deal to build a new stadium in Washington. 'Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense,' Trump posted late Sunday on Truth Social. It's not clear what authority Trump might have to thwart the stadium deal. The stadium agreement still needs the approval of the D.C. Council, which is set to hold hearings on the issue next week. Bowser, the mayor of D.C., downplayed the suggestion that Trump's most recent fixation would ultimately derail a plan that has been bandied about for years. 'I've had the opportunity to speak on a couple of different occasions with the president about this site and about our team,' Bowser told ESPN. 'And I can say this without equivocation: He is a [quarterback] Jayden Daniels fan, and he said himself, and the presser we were at, that this is probably the best site of any site he's seen for a stadium. I have to think that that's what I've heard him say, and that's what we'll stick with.' Trump-DeSantis feud simmers Has the most bitter rivalry of the 2024 Republican presidential primary been put to rest? It depends on whom you ask. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) traded barbs for much of 2023 and early 2024 after the governor launched his bid for the GOP nomination, a move Trump and his team saw as a slight. Trump spent months burying DeSantis with personal insults and accusing him of being ungrateful for the endorsement that helped him secure the gubernatorial nomination in Florida in 2018. DeSantis ignored the attacks for a time, but eventually he returned fire by arguing Trump had 'lost his fastball' and calling on him to debate. Adding fuel to the feud, DeSantis had cast out Susie Wiles, who was Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager and is now his chief of staff. The two men seem to have put their differences aside in recent months. Trump met with DeSantis during a trip to Florida to tout ' Alligator Alcatraz,' a facility that is housing migrants awaiting deportation. 'I think we get along great,' DeSantis told Fox News on Sunday. 'We're working very constructively. No state has done more to support their agenda on illegal immigration than we have.' Even Wiles has seemingly moved on from her animus toward Team DeSantis. 'He's a good governor, and whatever personal differences he had or whatever deficiencies he thought I had are long past my thinking about them,' Wiles told New York Post columnist Miranda Devine in a recent interview. But the goodwill does not extend throughout Trump World. Some who worked on Trump's 2024 bid have indicated they will neither forget nor forgive DeSantis for what they see as the grave offense of his presidential bid. Tony Fabrizio, who served as Trump's pollster in 2016 and 2024, responded harshly to a social media post suggesting DeSantis was positioning himself for another presidential run in 2028. 'Old Pudding Fingers @GovRonDeSantis better hope @ChrisLaCivita and I are both dead to have any minute chance in '28,' Fabrizio posted on the social platform X, invoking a rumor about DeSantis from 2023 eating pudding with his fingers.
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Native American groups slam Trump call to bring back Redskins name
Two Native American groups on Monday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to block a new football stadium in Washington, D.C., unless the local NFL team restores its old and controversial Redskins name. In Sunday posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump said there was "a big clamoring" for the team, which has been called the Commanders since 2022, to revert to its former name and that "our great Indian people" want it to happen. Trump also urged Major League Baseball's Cleveland Guardians, who changed their name from Indians in 2021, to follow suit. But some Native American groups slammed Trump for pushing for a return to what they called harmful names. "These mascots and names do not honor Native Peoples — they reduce us to caricatures," the Association on American Indian Affairs said in a statement. "Our diverse Peoples and cultures are not relics of the past or mascots for entertainment." "Native Nations are sovereign, contemporary cultures who deserve respect and self-determination, not misrepresentation." After decades of criticism that the name was a racial slur, the Washington NFL team in July 2020 retired the Redskins name and logo -- featuring the profile of a red-faced Native American with feathers in his hair -- that had been in place since 1933. The National Congress of American Indians said it opposes any effort to revive what it called racist mascots that demean Indigenous communities, calling it "an affront to Tribal sovereignty." "For 75 years, NCAI has held an unbroken voice: Imagery and fan behaviors that mock, demean, and dehumanize Native people have no place in modern society," NCAI President Mark Macarro said in a statement. Because Congress retains oversight of D.C. under its home-rule law, Trump could try to influence federal funding or approvals tied to the stadium, but he lacks direct authority to block it. Congress, controlled by Trump's Republicans, also has the power to override decisions by the Democratic-dominated Washington, D.C., City Council, though it rarely exercises this authority. The team, which has been in suburban Landover, Maryland, since 1997, reached an agreement with the District of Columbia government in April to return to the city with a new stadium expected to open in 2030. The White House did not respond to a request for further comment on Trump's post. The Commanders and NFL also did not respond to requests for comment. While some groups oppose the Commanders returning to the former name, the Native American Guardians Association said it supported Trump's desire to bring back the Redskins name. "The Native American Guardians Association stands with the President of the United States in the call to return common sense and sanity back to our nation," the group said in a statement. "Virtually all Americans, to include American Indians, are fed up with cancel culture." The Commanders have won three Super Bowls and are one of the NFL's marquee franchises, ranked by Forbes last year as the league's 10th most valuable franchise at $6.3 billion. Many American professional and collegiate sports teams have Native American-themed names. Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves, the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and NFL's Kansas City Chiefs have said they have no plans to change their names.
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump has limited ways to block Washington Commanders' stadium deal
To truly jeopardize the project, the president would probably have to get creative. Trump suggested he might halt the stadium deal - which would have the team return to the site of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in D.C. - unless the Commanders adopt its former name, the Redskins. The team has played in Landover, Maryland since 1997. More: Trump threatens Washington Commanders' stadium plans if franchise doesn't change name Like any other private company, however, the Commanders organization gets to choose its name. Washington retired the name Redskins in July 2020 amid nationwide protests over race, initially becoming the Washington Football Team for two seasons, and then rebranding as the Washington Commanders in 2022. Trump can't unilaterally scrap the team's stadium deal for D.C. because Congress passed a law in December that transferred ownership of the RFK stadium site from the National Park Service to the District of Columbia. The $3.7 billion stadium deal, which includes $1.1 billion in local taxpayer funds, is in the hands of the D.C. Council, which is nearing a vote on the project. "The president can say what he wants, but the law is clear. D.C. has full power over that site," said Ankit Jain, who serves as one of D.C.'s two elected shadow U.S. senators. "There are certain conditions that D.C. has to meet - and none of them are, 'what is the name of the team.'" Ways Trump could try to impede stadium deal Trump called for the Commanders to go back to its original name in a July 20 social media post that also pushed for the Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Indians, to bring back its old name. "There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote, adding in a subsequent post that he "may put a restriction on them" if the Commanders keep their name and "won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington." Trump has no role in signing off on the stadium project. But because of D.C.'s unique status as an enclave of the federal government, the president could potentially find ways to try to impede the deal. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has authority over the D.C. Although the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act gave the city local governance with an elected mayor and city council, Congress still has a 30-day review of all legislation passed by the D.C. Council and retains authority over the district's budget. That arrangement could give Trump an opportunity to rally Republicans in Congress to block the stadium legislative package during the review period after the deal passes the council. In addition, a memorandum of understanding between D.C. and Trump's Interior Department would be required to address environmental hazards with the RFK site. And the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission - which includes three Trump appointments and three Republican members of Congress - must sign off on final stadium designs. Both hurdles could present Trump moments for intervention. More: Native Americans rail against Trump's call to change Commanders' name back. Trump has also shown a willingness in other political battles to threaten federal funding from states, cities, colleges and universities to get his way. Would he be willing to do the same to D.C. over the Commanders name issue? "I don't think this is a serious threat," Jain said of Trump's demand that the Commanders adopt its old name. Instead, Jain suggested Trump raised the issue as "a distraction" from the the backlash the president has faced for his handling of the government's files involving wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "I don't think it's something that he's going to really follow up on, and there's very limited ability for him to do do anything there," Jain said. Truly loyalist in Congress has helped pave way to stadium The White House insists Trump isn't kidding around. "The president was serious," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters July 21, pointing to Trump's reputation as a dealmaker. "As part of the 'art of the deal,' part of his negotiating skills, as you know, sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see this team's name changed." When asked to explain Trump's authority to block the Commanders' stadium deal, a White House official directed USA TODAY to the comments from Leavitt, who did not address how Trump could execute his threat. More: Trump 'serious' about blocking Washington Commanders relocation to DC, White House says Convincing Republicans in Congress to block the stadium deal if the council approves the legislation could be a tough sale, even for Trump. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., a Trump ally and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, worked to get the land transfer of the RFK site through Congress and is a vocal supporter of the project. In a July 17 letter to the D.C. Council's chairman, Comer urged the council to approve the stadium deal no later than August and expressed disappointment in delays that have held up a vote. "The federal government transferred administrative control of this valuable property with the clear expectation that the D.C. Council would act decisively to maximize its potential," Comer wrote. Commanders, DC mayor stay quiet on Trump Longtime Washington owner Daniel Snyder in 2023 sold the team to a new ownership group led by billionaire investor Josh Harris, who has elected to keep Commanders as the name and has called the debate settled. The team just completed its most successful season in decades, capped by an appearance in the NFC championship game. The Commanders and Harris have not issued a formal statement on Trump's remarks. Commanders General Manager Adam Peters, addressing reporters on the first day of training camp Tuesday, said the team isn't focused on the stadium situation. "We really just try to focus on what's going on in here and getting ready for the season," Peters said. More: Commanders are focused on football, not Trump's stadium threats Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who helped orchestrate the stadium deal, deflected when a reporter asked her Monday whether she believes Trump has the power to block the Commanders' stadium deal. "I think the thing that we should focus on in D.C. is doing our part," Bowser said, adding that the council still needs to give the green light. "We need to complete our part." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has often talked about taking over the governance of D.C., a city he has long derided for crime and homelessness. Nevertheless, Trump hosted Bowser and the Commanders' Harris at the White House in May to announce Washington's National Mall would host the 2027 NFL Draft. Trump never mentioned the Commanders name during the announcement In fact, more than a decade ago, Trump had a very different take in 2013 when then-President Barack Obama said the Redskins should consider changing the team name to something less offensive. "President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems!" Trump wrote on Twitter at the time. "FOCUS on them, not nonsense." Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
