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It’s not exactly a secret that professional football has an enormous and loyal following in the United States, and the NFL’s cultural footprint has few credible rivals. Common sense might suggest that political leaders would want to align themselves with the league, if for no other reason than to side with the American mainstream.
Donald Trump and his administration, however, can’t seem to help themselves.
Five years ago, Politico highlighted the president’s “decadeslong grudge against the NFL” and the eagerness with which he incorporated the league into his broader “culture war strategy.” Also in the Republican’s first term, then-Vice President Mike Pence went to an NFL game, saw some players engage in a brief, peaceful and symbolic protest, and then left before kickoff in a performative display that cost taxpayers a fair amount of money.
Five years later, Team Trump is still at it. After the league announced that Latin superstar and Trump critic Bad Bunny would headline the next Super Bowl halftime show, a controversial podcast personality asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week whether the NFL was possibly sending a message to the administration. She replied, “They suck and we’ll win and God will bless us.”
Noem added, in apparent reference to league officials, “They won’t be able to sleep at night. ... They’re so weak.”
This week, the president had some related thoughts of his own.
On Newsmax’s Greg Kelly program, the conservative host raised the possibility of conservatives agreeing to “blow off the NFL” with a possible “boycott.” Trump responded that he’s unfamiliar with Bad Bunny, but he nevertheless considered the entertainer's role as a Super Bowl halftime performer as “absolutely ridiculous.”
The president quickly added that he dislikes the league’s kickoff rule, saying it looks “ridiculous” and “terrible.” (The rule was instituted last year, but Trump continues to complain about it with unnerving frequency.)
What’s more, earlier this summer, Trump used his social media platform to argue that the Washington Commanders should return to its previous, offensive name, adding, “I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back. ... I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.”
Since returning to power, the president has taken steps to exert unusual influence over everything from the economy to higher education, the judiciary to the media, the military to museums, labor unions to law enforcement, health care to corporations, independent federal agencies to banks, cultural institutions to nonprofit organizations, the legal profession to the entertainment industry.
Evidently, it’s time to add professional football to his growing list of culture war targets.