President Donald Trump is once again defending the Washington NFL team’s former name — the Redskins — a term long condemned by Native American communities as a racial slur.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump dismissed the name “Commanders” as lacking the “ring” of its predecessor and suggested the team never should’ve rebranded in the first place.
“I wouldn’t have changed the name,” Trump said. “It just doesn’t have the same… it doesn’t have the same ring to me.”
But critics say that “ring” is the sound of deep-rooted racism — and that Trump’s nostalgia is out of step with the progress many Americans, including the team itself, have made over the past several years.
Trump’s Comments Reignite a Long-Fought Cultural Battle
The Washington NFL franchise dropped the name “Redskins” in 2020 after decades of activism by Indigenous groups and civil rights organizations. The final push came during the nationwide reckoning over racism following the murder of George Floyd, when corporate sponsors like FedEx, Nike, and PepsiCo threatened to pull their funding unless the franchise dropped the name.
“It wasn’t just a branding decision — it was a long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism,” said Carla Fredericks, director of First Peoples Worldwide. “The idea that this was somehow ‘honoring’ Native people was always a lie told by those who didn’t have to live with the consequences.”
Fredericks noted that for decades, Native voices were excluded from mainstream civil rights conversations. “Now that social media and digital platforms have amplified our voices, there’s no excuse for ignoring us anymore,” she added.
Trump Claims “Indians” Are Offended by the Name Change
Trump, however, doubled down in April, claiming he’d spoken to “Indians” who supposedly support the term. “They love that name and they love that team,” he said. “I think it’s degrading to the Indian population” to remove it.
His language — including referring to Native Americans as “Indians” and suggesting they universally approve of the term “Redskins” — was immediately blasted as out of touch.
“It’s textbook cultural gaslighting,” said Judith LeBlanc, director of the Native Organizers Alliance. “He’s using cherry-picked anecdotes to dismiss decades of struggle by Native communities to be seen and respected.”
Name Change Wasn’t About Winning — It Was About Respect
Though Trump argued that “winning can make everything sound good,” the team’s decision wasn’t tied to performance, but principle. The franchise officially adopted “Washington Commanders” in 2022 following a two-year period as the “Washington Football Team.”
“It’s not about whether it sounds catchy,” said Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history. “It’s about finally acknowledging that racist caricatures and slurs don’t belong in American sports — or anywhere else.”
Despite the rebrand, controversy still swirls around ownership, team culture, and now — thanks to Trump — the name itself once again. But for many Indigenous advocates, the debate isn’t open anymore.
“The question isn’t whether the name should’ve changed,” said LeBlanc. “The question is why it took so long.”
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The thing people miss here is one doesn’t choose a name for a team because there insulting the name; it’s chosen because you like it., America has become so focused on Race/sex issues, they want to find something wrong in anything and everything! We need to get over ourselves and stop trying to make something out of nothing!
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Yes and most early Americans like names that remind people they’ve always been here…
You know, what could have been done, and more than likeley supported 100% by the Indegiouneus People here was remae it the Washington “Tribe” or Tribersmen, keep the Logo, there was no problem with the Logo, designed, by the way, by a Seminole Chief. same logo, colors ect just the more Generic “Tribe/Tribesmen.”
Indians hated the name change – media hype and racists pushed for change!
This was politics and the left catering to a few. If it was about logos and race then why is Col Sanders, Wendys, Quaker state logo still up and running?
See that’s what’s wrong with Today’s culture…. Everybody is so sensitive. I’m Italian and if there was a football team called the guinnies or whoops who cares?? lol here’s what else is wrong; you liberals want to call the American Indians, indigenous people. So while the name American Indian was a mistake (because the Europeans thought they’d reached India) it doesn’t mean anything on its own. However, indigenous people does mean something- it means that specific group of people originated here in the western hemisphere- but they didn’t originate here!!!! They arrived (according to science) around 12,000 years ago by crossing the land bridge from Asia during the ice age. When they did THEY COLONIZED the America’s and displaced the CLOVIS people who already lived here!!
So our so-called American Indian did exactly what the Europeans did later- colonized the Americas! So they really can’t claim “foul” for exactly what they did!!BTW where did the CLOVIS people originate? Their nearest relatives were the CLOVIS people of modern day France!!! So the Europeans were here first, displaced and eradicated by Asians ( the American Indian) 12,000 years ago who were later displaced by…. Europeans!!!
That’s the way of the world!!!
We all need to stop being so sensitive…
Who cares what the football team is called? How many championships did they win??? I’d be honored if they were called the Whopps and won that many!!! Lol
The Italian Football League just had their PlayOffs here in Toledo, Ohio…
They should called it orange face after Trump
Silly name idea… Trump isn’t a politician and just around briefly… However, MAGA is FOREVER !!!
LIsten .. . .what about … Gauting Indians, a baseball and softball club from Gauting, a suburb of Munich, Germany. The women’s team is the “Squaws”;
Atlanta Braves (Atlanta, Georgia) – originally Boston Braves, then Milwaukee Braves. The mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa existed until the 1983 season. Princess Win-A-Lotta was introduced in the late 1970s, dropped at same time as Noc-A-Homa. In 1991, the Braves adopted the Tomahawk Chop from Florida State University when Deion Sanders joined the team;
Indianapolis Indians (Indianapolis, Indiana) – Team announced partnership with Miami Tribe to keep mascot
Just a few of many–so stupid, so woke!