If you follow the president on social media, you’re probably familiar with his partisan rants and Beltway musings. That’s Donald Trump, the politician.
But there’s another, lesser-known Trump on the sidelines. This Trump is just as opinionated as the one you know, but he cares less about “the Democrat party” and more about “the GOAT.” This Trump argues not why politicians deserve indictments, but why athletes deserve hall-of-fame inductions.
This is Donald Trump, the sports fan. He showed up this year to the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the U.S. Open and a Yankees game. But his social media account is where his true fandom shows. His posts — copious and unfiltered, spanning more than a decade — reveal his lasting allegiances and philosophies.
I read through thousands of those posts this week. There are a few overarching themes.
He flaunts his friends
Trump considers himself a sportsman. He’s a good golfer — even if he fudges the rules — and he used to play baseball, football and soccer. He also enjoys having, and showcasing, friends from the sporting world.
Tom Brady was spotted as early as 2015 with one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats in his locker. The president has posted about Brady dozens of times, calling him the best quarterback of all time.
Tom Brady would have won if he was throwing a soccer ball. He is my friend and a total winner! @Patriots (Twitter, May 8, 2015)
Bryson DeChambeau, a pro golfer who plays in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league, reps the Trump Golf brand. He and Trump often hit the links together, too.
He is a truly tough competitor, even a nasty one, but he also happens to be a great guy. (Truth Social, June 16, 2024)
He cares about greatness — and disrespect
Trump is keenly attuned to status and recognition. (Recently, he has been gunning for the Nobel Peace Prize.) He lavishes his favorite athletes with praise and complains when he feels they’ve been snubbed.
Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, was banned from the sport in 1989 for gambling on his team. Since 2013, Trump has posted more than a dozen times that Rose — whom he calls “one of the most magnificent players ever” — should be inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame. Most Americans agree, recent polling shows.
Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame! (Truth Social, Feb. 28, 2025)
Deion Sanders, the legendary cornerback, is Trump’s friend. The president spoke out when Sanders’s son Shedeur wasn’t selected in the early rounds of the N.F.L. draft. (Shedeur is now on the Cleveland Browns.)
What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID? (Truth Social, April 25, 2025)
He is obsessed with toughness
Trump believes the field is a place for men to physically prove themselves. This is especially true for football, and he has long complained that officiating neuters the game’s essential brutality.
I’m not going to be watching much NFL football anymore. Too time consuming, too boring, too many flags and too soft. (Twitter, Oct. 5, 2014)
He has also taken aim at rules, like the league’s new kickoff format, meant to reduce head injuries. Kickoff plays are four times as likely to cause concussions as running and passing, league data shows, and the changes slow those plays down.
The ball is moving, and the players are not, the exact opposite of what football is all about. “Sissy” football is bad for America, and bad for the NFL! (Truth Social, Sept. 15, 2025)
Last season, when the new kickoff rules debuted, concussions dropped 17 percent.