White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that President Trump believes the Native American community would be “very angry” over the Washington Redskins changing their name.
The Redskins announced Monday they would retire their team name and logo after 87 years, amid a public reckoning with the racial connotations of sports team names. The team did not announce a new name.
“These teams name their teams out of strength, not weakness,” McEnany said in a briefing. “[Trump] says he believes that the Native American community would be very angry at this.”
The press secretary pointed to a 2016 Washington Post poll that found 9 out of 10 Native Americans are not offended by the Redskins’ name. The poll revealed that the minds of Native Americans had not changed regarding the team name since a 2004 poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found the same result. McEnany added that many Native Americans expressed “admiration” for the team name.
WASHINGTON MIGHT HAVE TOUGH TIME REPLACING REDSKINS BECAUSE OF TRADEMARK ISSUES: REPORT
Last week, Trump weighed in on the Redskins and the Cleveland Indians possibly changing their names in light of racial injustice protests – suggesting it would be an act of “weakness.”
“They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
