Trump wants NFL's Commanders to revert to Redskins, threatens Washington D.C. stadium deal
Drop Commanders and “immediately” revert the name of Washington’s NFL team to Redskins or face holdups in a bid to build a new stadium in D.C., U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the team’s ownership on Sunday.
In the same Truth Social post, he also urged the owners of MLB’s Cleveland Guardians to restore the club’s name of more than 100 years, the Indians, saying he’s heard “a big clamouring” for both name changes.
Both clubs have used their current monikers since their respective 2022 seasons, having elected to abandon terms and branding that were offensive to Native American people. Redskin, in particular, is considered “an insulting and contemptuous term for an American Indian,” as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
‘Times are different now’
On Sunday morning, Trump first said that the “Washington ‘Whatever’s’” and Cleveland should act swiftly and return to their former branding because the country’s “great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen.”
( @realDonaldTrump - Truth Social Post )
— Fan Donald J. Trump ???????? TRUTH POSTS (@TruthTrumpPosts) July 20, 2025
( Donald J. Trump - Jul 20, 2025, 10:17 AM ET )
The Washington “Whatever’s” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the… pic.twitter.com/jJWzmlO2ty
“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,” he wrote, adding, “Owners, get it done!”
In the post, Trump incorrectly referred to Cleveland as home to one of the six original baseball teams. While Cleveland did have a team in the early days of the National League, before the MLB was formed in 1902, it came after the original eight-team circuit debuted in 1876.
When Cleveland joined the American League in 1900, they were known as the Lakeshores, before becoming the Naps in 1902, in honour of player-manager Napoleon “Nap” Lajoie. After his departure in 1914, club owner Charles Somers asked local sports scribes to help him rename the team, and they chose Indians.
Trump muses, council debates
After his earlier thought had “totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,” Trump later hinted that he may insert himself into the ongoing process for the club to secure a new stadium at the site of RFK Stadium, its former home of three-plus decades.
“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 posted.
“The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone.”
( @realDonaldTrump - Truth Social Post )
— Fan Donald J. Trump ???????? TRUTH POSTS (@TruthTrumpPosts) July 20, 2025
( Donald J. Trump - Jul 20, 2025, 3:35 PM ET )
My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original… pic.twitter.com/nGVQYnHfHh
Trump also made the name change suggestion while speaking to reporters earlier this month, according to CNN , saying it doesn’t have the “same ring” to him.
It’s not immediately clear how much executive authority Trump could exert over “the deal.”
The land in question was transferred from the National Park Service to the District of Columbia by way of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act , which passed in December and was signed into law by former president Joe Biden two weeks before Trump’s inauguration.
It lets D.C. — which has a mayor and council running the day-to-day, but whose money is controlled by Congress — redevelop the land for a stadium and a host of other purposes, including housing, public facilities and green space.
In late April, the franchise and D.C. came to terms on a deal to build a new stadium as part of a US$4 billion project funded mostly by the team ($2.7 billion), with the district adding at least $1.1 billion by 2032, per the Associated Press .
“The ball is the council’s court to approve the agreement,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said when questioned about the project during a media availability last week .
“The Commanders are anxious. The council has to make moves, that’s what has to happen.”
Public testimony hearings for the redevelopment plan begin next week.
The name of the game
Trump ended his follow-up post by again suggesting Cleveland start using its old name, suggesting it would help the federal political career of former Ohio state senator Matt Dolan, whom Trump labelled as the Guardians’ owner.
Dolan, a non-Trump-backing Republican who ran and lost two bids for the U.S. Senate, is part of the Dolan family that is the team’s primary owner, but he hasn’t been directly involved in operations since before entering state politics in 2016.
“Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election,” Trump wrote.
“Indians are being treated very unfairly. Make Indians Great Again (MIGA)!”
Guardians’ president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, indicated before a game on Sunday afternoon that the organization has no plans to revisit the name change.
“We understand there are different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but obviously it’s a decision we made. We’ve got the opportunity to build a brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future that’s in front of us,” he said, per AP .
As reported by the Washington Post , Commanders owner Josh Harris said much the same this February when asked about switching back.
“It’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,” Harris said.
“We’re going with that. Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something.”
National Post has contacted the Commanders, Bowser’s office and the Guardians for comment.
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