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President Donald Trump weighs in on the Washington Commanders reverting to Redskins nickname
President Donald Trump has once again weighed in on the future of the Washington Commanders — this time, with threats about the NFL team's new stadium deal.
After previously stating that, given the opportunity, he would change the team's name back to the Washington Redskins — which has been deemed offensive to Native Americans — the president went on a lengthy two-part social media rant this week, threatening to hold up the team's stadium deal if they refuse his order.
"The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, July 20. "There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past."
He continued, claiming, "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!!!"
Under public pressure during a period of protests and racial unrest in 2020, the D.C.-area NFL team dropped the "Redskins" moniker. They played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
Scott Taetsch/Getty
The Washington Commanders' 'Inspire Change' logo on display in December 2023
Earlier in July, Trump was asked about intervening in the stalled plans for the Commanders' new stadium. The team is currently in a stalemate with D.C. politicians over a $3.7 billion plan to renovate Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and move the team back to the nation's capital.
RFK Stadium was the Redskins' home for 36 seasons, from 1961 through 1996, however, for nearly 20 years, the Washington team has played at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
"We'll see what happens," Trump said at the time. "I've been looking at the deal, and I don't blame them. It's a very important piece of property, so we'll see. But if I can help them out, I would."
On Monday, Trump returned to social media to say that his post about the Commanders had "totally blown up, but only in a very positive way."
The president, however, seemed to change his tune on helping the team with their stadium, instead threatening an ultimatum.
"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," he wrote. "The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone."
Trump continued, saying that "Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians." The MLB franchise also changed its name due to Native stereotypes in 2021, becoming the Cleveland Guardians and dropping its offensive mascot, "Chief Wahoo."
V.J. Lovero /Sports Illustrated via Getty
The Cleveland MLB team's controversial former mascot, Chief Wahoo, which was replaced when the team abandoned "stereotypes" to become the Cleveland Guardians
In his post, the president claimed that Cleveland's name change has also had a negative impact on its ownership.
"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," he said. "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)!"
While it's true that former Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan did lose primary bids for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and 2024, it's actually his older brother, Paul Dolan, who is the owner, chairman and CEO of the Cleveland Guardians. Technically, Matt and his siblings all inherited the team from their late father, Larry J. Dolan, however, Paul is said to be the only one closely involved with the baseball franchise.
While accepting a Cleveland community award in September 2023, Paul Dolan admitted that his legacy with the MLB team was likely to be forever tied with its name change. However, he defended the decision, despite some fans' continued negative reactions.
"[Our name] fostered misunderstandings about Native Americans by perpetuating pop culture-generated stereotypes about them, depriving them of the dignity of being recognized for who they really are. Many were subjected to many forms of hatred spawned from these misunderstandings. Hatred that caused real harm within the Native American community, particularly to its young people," he said. "Hate is not parochial or partisan. It’s like a pandemic, it has to be stopped everywhere."
Similarly, in an August 2024 press conference, Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris spoke with reporters about why the team was not considering going back to its old name.
"I just think that we've been very clear, for obvious reasons the old name can't come back," Harris said. "But right now we're focused on things that unify the team around our football team. And unify the city around our football team."
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Adding that the team was enacting other throwbacks, like old-school alternate uniforms to evoke nostalgia for the team's glory days, Harris said his hopes were high to bring the team back to RFK Stadium, though he noted that there was plenty of work still to do.
"There's political things that need to occur. There's land zoning, a whole lot of other things. A lot of it's not within our control, so there's no way to predict a specific date, but I think [2030] is a reasonable target," he said.
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