The public lovefest between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump continued on Wednesday when the NFL star sang the GOP front-runner’s praises ahead of his second major primary debate.
Brady, who entered this NFL season under a cloud of cheating accusations, has never officially aligned himself with a particular political party, although some speculated that his decision to skip a White House ceremony honoring the Patriots’ Super Bowl win earlier this year may have been politically motivated.
When Brady was asked Wednesday about a potential Trump presidency he said: “It would be great. There would be a putting green on the White House lawn, I can tell you that.” The four-time Super Bowl champion had reportedly golfed with Trump in the past. Brady also acknowledged that he has a red “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker, which was a gift from Trump.
“It was a nice keepsake,” Brady told reporters. “It could be … a nice piece of memorabilia he sent me.”
Earlier this month, Brady told a Boston radio show he didn’t know if he would vote for Trump but that he’d known him since 2002 after serving as a judge in one of his Miss USA competitions and said he’s received calls from the real estate mogul offering him “motivational speeches.”
When Brady’s four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in “Deflate-gate” was overturned on Sept. 3, Trump was quick to align himself with the NFL star, who he called an “honorable man.”
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In August, Trump criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to suspend Brady in the first place. “I think it’s ridiculous the way they’ve treated him,” Trump said during a FOX Business Channel interview. “He’s a friend of mine, he’s a great friend of mine, he’s a great guy, and I think it’s ridiculous the way they’ve treated him. To spend $10 million in legal fees, and now it’s probably higher than that, it’s crazy. He’s a great star. They ought to go back to playing football. This country has bigger problems.”
Adam Howard