Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris hoped Donald Trump would accept a Commanders jersey after the pair confirmed the 2027 NFL Draft will be held in the nation’s capital
19:52, 05 May 2025Updated 19:52, 05 May 2025
Donald Trump looks on at the Washington Commanders jersey on his desk(Image: Getty Images)
In late April, US President Donald Trump admitted he thinks the old Redskins nickname for the Washington Commanders was a “much superior name” to the one they have now.
On May 5, Trump welcomed Commanders owner Josh Harris to the White House to help announce Washington, DC as the home of the 2027 NFL Draft. Despite his recent comments, Harris came bearing a gift: a Commanders jersey for Trump, whom Harris called the “ultimate commander.”
“We leave on your desk a President Trump Washington Commanders jersey,” the 60-year-old team owner said. “You are the ultimate Commander, so, there’s your Commanders jersey. There’s no bird on it, but we do appreciate you and thank you for everything you’ve done, and look forward to the future.”
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Wahsington changed its team name from Redskins to the ‘Washington Football Team’ ahead of the the 2020 team before settling on the Commanders in 2022, a year before Harris joined the organization.
“I think it’s degrading to the Indian population, and it’s a great population, and they like it when they’re called by various names,” Trump said of team name-changes in a bizarre rant to White House reporters on April 24.
“Now Washington, the Redskins, perhaps that’s a little different, but I can tell you that I spoke to people of Indian heritage who love that name and love that team, and I think it’s a much superior name to what they have right now and it had heritage behind it, it had something special,” he added.
Trump was all smiles in front of Harris, 60, on Monday. Harris grew his wealth as the founder of private equity firm Apologgo Global Management and parlayed it into a diverse sports portfolio.
His new company, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, holds majority stakes in the NFL’s Commanders, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Trump appears to be closely following his progress in DC> “I have to say that Josh had a very good [NFL] draft a short while ago,” he said. “[And] you have a very good quarterback (Jayden Daniels), a great quarterback, I think.”
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Daniels, the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, turned Washington from a 4-13 doormat to a playoff team with a stellar NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year-worthy campaign.
In the playoffs, he spearheaded road upsets of both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions to lead Washington to the organization’s first NFC Championship Game in over 30 years.