Donald Trump Thinks the Washington Commanders Shouldn’t Have Changed Their Controversial Name

Donald Trump is partial to the Washington Commanders’ former name, the Redskins.

The president was asked if the NFL team should return to its previous team name. “Well, you want me to make a controversial statement? I would,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have changed the name. It just doesn’t have the same... it doesn’t have the same ring to me.”

He then shared that the team keeping the Commanders brand is fine if the team wins games. “But, you know, winning can make everything sound good. So if they win, all of a sudden the Commanders sounds good, but I wouldn’t have changed the name.”

The team was founded in 1932 in Boston, became known as the Redskins in 1933, and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1937. As the Redskins, the team began facing criticism from Indigenous groups starting in the 1960s.

The team dropped the Redskins in 2020, first opting for the Washington Football Team before landing on the Commanders.

The Washington, D.C., team’s decision came days after FedEx — which spent millions on naming rights for the team's home stadium, FedExField — publicly urged the organization to choose a new moniker. Other corporate sponsors, including Pepsi, Nike, and Bank of America, issued their own statements, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he supported a review.