'MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN': Trump threatens Washington Commanders' stadium deal over woke name change

President Donald Trump may have just put the new Washington Commanders stadium on ice before construction has even started.

On Sunday, Trump referred to the NFL team as the Washington "Whatever's" in a Truth Social post that has billions of dollars' worth of implications.

The Commanders have plans to bring the team back to D.C. with a new $2.7 billion venue that Trump, the NFL, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) gushed over in May when they announced the city would also host the 2027 NFL Draft. Now, the president has threatened to upend the whole deal if the Commanders refuse a key change.

'I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back.'

As fans may recall, in 2020, Washington's NFL franchise got rid of the Redskins moniker and logo in favor of the bland interim name the Washington Football Team. The team then rebranded as the Washington Commanders in 2022.

The president now says it is time to go back to the Redskins, or bad things could happen.

"The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Defending the "great Indian people," the president said that Native Americans are massively in favor of going back to the old name.

"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," Trump added.

Even though Washington ownership thought the Redskins name was offensive, countless Native groups have openly supported changing the name back to Redskins, including the family of the man the logo is modeled after, John Two Guns White Calf.

Trump's critiques of the Washington team name were not done there, though, and he later made direct threats about the Commanders' future home field.

RELATED: Washington just inched one step closer to bringing the Redskins back

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Boasting that his previous post was received very positively, Trump pondered whether he should make a name change part of the requirements for the Commanders to get their new stadium.

"I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington," POTUS wrote on Truth Social.

The president then claimed that an announcement of the name change would make the stadium deal "more exciting for everyone."

At the same time, the MLB's Cleveland Guardians got equal treatment in Trump's posts; the team dropped their beloved Indians name and logo after 2021, following more than 100 years with the name.

Trump first noted that the "Cleveland Indians [are] one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past," before hammering former Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) — whose family owns the Guardians franchise — claiming his election losses were due to the name change.

"Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change."

Trump said Nolan might win his seat back if he went back to the Indians moniker, writing, "Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!"

RELATED: 'The fans want him back': Family of Blackfeet chief, the inspiration for Redskins' logo, calls for logo's return

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Not only has there been increased pressure on the Washington franchise to bring the Redskins name back, but the team has been happy to flirt with their history without using the name or old logo directly.

Just three weeks ago, the Commanders announced they would wear their old Redskins uniforms without the logo for three games in the upcoming season to help fans relive their Super Bowl years in the late 1980s and early 1990s; so long as no one says the name.

Owner Josh Harris has stated that the old Redskins name "can't come back," while his wife has similarly stated that the name was not paramount for the team, rather success on the field was.

A 2024 poll by the Washington Post revealed that just 32% of Commanders fans specifically liked or loved their team name, while 57% of the team's fans said they dislike or hate the name.

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