President Donald Trump praised legendary former quarterback for the New York Jets, Joe Namath, as being a “great talent” who had a great arm.
While speaking with sports commentators Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma in the FOX broadcast booth, Trump spoke about Namath, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, and former NFL New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, among other subjects.
“So, we’ll take you back to the sixties. You got the Jets, you got Joe Namath, you got the Cowboys,” Vilma said, as he proceeded to ask who his team was.
“So, I loved the Jets, and I loved the Giants. I had a lot of friends, Bob Tisch and some people that owned the Giants at the time. As we’re going along and progressing, and you know, look, we had a couple Super Bowls with the Giants. The Jets have been having a little bit of a hard time — Woody’s a great guy, he’s a great friend of mine.”
“Were you a Joe Namath fan?” Albert asked.
“I loved Joe Namath,” Trump responded. “He was a great talent, he had that arm. His legs weren’t so good, but his arm made up for it. When you talk about a quick release, he had it!”
Albert pointed out that Vilma, a former linebacker for the Jets was drafted during the first round.
During Trump’s interview with Albert and Vilma, he also spoke about Brees, who Vilma played with when he played with the Saints.
“He was accurate, and he knew how to win,” Trump said about Brees. After Vilma described Brees as being the “best teammate” he had, Trump added that Brees “threw a ball that you could catch.”
Trump also shared about his love for sports, and described sports as being a “microcosm of life,” and pointed out that you can “equate sports with life.”
Trump’s presence at the Commanders versus Lions game represents the first time that a sitting president has gone to an NFL game during the regular season, since former President Jimmy Carter attended a game in October 1978.
Special Assistant to the President Margo Martin shared a photo of Josh Harris, the owner of the Washington Commanders and Trump, in which the President was gifted with a jersey with his name and the number 47 on it.
Washington Commanders President Mark Clouse issued a statement prior to the game that the organization was “honored to welcome President Trump to the game” as they also honored U.S. military veterans ahead of Veterans Day.
“The entire Commanders organization is proud to participate in the NFL’s league-wide Salute to Service initiative, recognizing the dedication and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans, active-duty service members, and their families this Sunday,” Clouse added in his statement.
Trump’s attendance at the game also comes after several sources told ESPN that Trump allegedly wants the Commanders to name their new, and upcoming stadium after him. The stadium, which costs roughly $3.7 billion, is reportedly scheduled to be finished in 2030.
“That would be a beautiful name,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed. Leavitt also pointed out that it was Trump who had made the “rebuilding of the new stadium possible.”
