President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants the Washington Commanders to once more become the Washington Redskins five years after the football team was forced by woke activists, local leaders and NFL sponsors to change the name. He’s even threatened to tank the deal for a new stadium in Washington, D.C.
Trump also has his eyes set on the Cleveland Guardians, which was previously known as the Cleveland Indians. The NFL team dropped the “Redskins” name in 2020, with Cleveland’s major league team changing its name in 2021.
“Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past,” Trump posted to Truth Social after insisting the “Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team.”
“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. 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. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!” Trump’s post continued.
Many Ohio Republicans have taken Trump’s lead and are just as vocal on the team going back to its original name.
Within minutes of Trump’s post, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, chimed in over X, sharing a post from OutKick’s Clay Travis, who is in favor of the team going back to being called the Indians.
“Cleveland wants this, let’s go!” Moreno shared in his post.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also weighed in to signal his approval for both teams going back to their previous names.
“Cleveland Indians. Washington Redskins,” he posted on X.
Jordan still refers to the baseball team as the Indians in his social media posts when cheering them on.
Chris Antonetti, the Guardians’ president of baseball operations, met with reporters the same morning that Trump made comments, although he had not seen the president’s post.
“Not something I’m tracking or have been paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally I understand that there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago,” Antonetti said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. “But obviously it’s a decision we’ve made and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future.”
Terry Francona, who was previously the team’s manager and now manages the Cincinnati Reds is even more adamant about wanting to stick by the Guardians name.
As he shared with USA Today:
“I wasn’t the one that had to kind of have the (fortitude) to do it,” Francona said before the Reds’ game against the Washington Nationals. “[Guardians owner] Paul Dolan ultimately was the one that had to pull the trigger.
“I was really proud of him, because I don’t think it was real popular with a segment of probably the older fans that kind of, I guess like Trump, ‘Why can’t it be like it used to be?’
“And I guess my retort would be, ‘There’s probably a lot of people in this country who don’t want it like it used to be.’ And if you’re white, (you’re) probably just fine.’
“That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Like, I didn’t even care what they made the name in Cleveland. I really didn’t. I just know how I was in on those conversations, and we were trying to be respectful. And for that, I gave those guys a lot of credit.”
The name change is indeed not popular with fans, and not just with older ones.
News 5 Cleveland spoke with fans outside of Progressive Stadium on Monday night. Out of the 59 who responded, 47 expressed support for the team going back to calling themselves the Indians.
“Times are different now,” as Trump mentioned in his social media post. Cancel culture and wokeism, as well as the Black Lives Matter protests from 2020 have faded. According to Total Pro Sports, a recent study shows that 90% of Native Americans are “not offended” by the Washington Redskins name. A 2016 Washington Post poll had similar results. In 2023 a Native American group sued the team, demanding it revert back to the Redskins name.
Former major league pitcher John Rocker, who played one season for the Cleveland Indians, agreed.
“I was playing golf at Pinehurst a few years ago with several members of the Tribal Council of the Cherokee Nation as well as the Chief. To a man none of them cared about the names of sports teams,” Rocker told The Daily Signal. “Glad to see once again Trump is standing up and in his own way telling these idiot Libs exactly where they can go stick their nonsense.”
Trump was elected for a second term in 2024 after lambasting cancel culture and wokeism. It’s a mission Trump has taken on as president as well.
Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb does not appear to have weighed in on the team name. His office did not respond to a request for comment.