Why Trump’s ‘Washington Whatevers’ threat matters

In The Spectator’s lengthy sit-down interview with President Trump earlier this year, 45 teased the idea that the return of Washington’s NFL franchise to the Robert F. Kennedy stadium site could be a legacy level achievement in his second term. He also implied a willingness to step in to take over the situation if the DC council failed to approve a stadium deal.

Now that the feckless (and corrupt) DC council has put the initial RFK deal in doubt, Trump has raised the prospect of a return from the Commanders name to the old moniker of the Redskins as a necessary element to prevent scotching the deal – a move that he can do via executive action or via approval from two planning boards, writing on Truth Social: “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.” 

When DC Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked yesterday by WUSA9 reporter Eric Flack if she would withdraw support for a stadium deal if the Redskins name was brought back, Bowser said “No,” while reiterating her belief that the council needs to be the one to approve the deal. 

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes that the team might actually entertain the notion – noting that he hasn’t been able to get a statement of denial from Washington’s front office, and that there’s some suspicion Trump’s statement effectively gives permission for the national NFL leadership to consider the move. 

If the price of a massive beautiful stadium in DC is a return to the old branding, would the NFL and owner Josh Harris entertain it? It would be a final stake in the heart of the wokeness of the summer of 2020, when major advertisers forced the team to rebrand following the death of George Floyd. And if a stadium is combined with a name change, for longtime DC residents and local fans who defended the name for decades and viewed the push against it as coming from national progressives who didn’t care about the team, it’d make Trump have an even greater legacy. If Bowser and Harris are willing to play ball, why not do it?