Donald Trump: Why has US president made Washington Commanders stadium threat?

Donald Trump has threatened to block NFL team the Washington Commanders’ new stadium in a post on his Truth Social platform.

In an initial post on Sunday, the President claimed there is a “big clamoring” for the Commanders to revert to their previous name of the Redskins.

Trump also told MLB team the Cleveland Guardians to change their name back to the Indians, adding that “our great Indian people” backed his proposal “in great numbers”.

101GreatGoals.com explains what Trump said in the posts, the response from the teams and how the situation stands.

Why did Washington change from Redskins to Commanders?

The term Redskin, which is a racial slur for Native Americans in the US and First Nations in Canada, was dropped from their name and logo by Washington in 2020 following a review.

The change came at a time of major protests over police brutality and racism, and major sponsors had threatened to withdraw support unless the change was made.

They were called the Washington Football Team during the 2020 season before changing to the Commanders in 2022.

Ray Halbritter, a representative of the Oneida Nation Native American tribe and First Nations band and the head of the Change the Mascot campaign, said at the time that Washington owner Dan Snyder and the NFL had “finally made the right call”.

“This is a good decision for the country – not just Native peoples – since it closes a painful chapter of denigration and disrespect toward Native Americans and other people of color,” Halbritter added in a statement.

“Future generations of Native youth will no longer be subjected to this offensive and harmful slur every Sunday during football season.”

Why did Cleveland change from Indians to Guardians?

Cleveland announced in December 2020 that it would drop Indians from its name in a move that drew a mixed response and followed decades of criticism over racist connotations.

The team had also phased out its ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo – a racist caricature of a Native American – in 2018.

“Hearing first-hand the stories and experiences of Native American people, we gained a deep understanding of how tribal communities feel about the team name and the detrimental effects it has on them,” team owner Paul Dolan said in a statement in December 2020.

“We also spoke to local civic leaders who represent diverse populations in our city and who highlighted the negative impact our team name has on our broader population and on under-represented groups across our community.”

President Donald Trump is doubling down.

He says he won’t make a deal for the team to build a new stadium if they don’t change their name back to the Washington Redskins.

Buckle up. pic.twitter.com/Zkei95PzP4

— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) July 21, 2025

What did Donald Trump say about the Commanders and Redskins?

“The Washington ‘Whatevers’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Trump implored on July 20.

“There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past.

“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. 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 then used capital letters and exclamation marks to tell “owners” to “get it done”, later following up with a second post about Washington’s proposed new stadium.

“I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington (name),’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders’, I won’t make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington,” he warned.

What did the Commanders and Guardians say about Trump?

While the Commanders had not responded by Monday morning, the Guardians’ president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, said he was unaware of Trump’s statements when he spoke to reporters that day.

Antonetti added (via USA Today) that a name change was “not something [he has been] tracking or paying a lot of attention to.”

“We’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future,” said Antonetti.

Washington Commanders new stadium

A deal was agreed in April for a new £3 billion, 65,000-seater stadium at the site of the RFK Stadium, which was the team’s home between 1961 and 1997.

According to the stadium site, local leaders in the Democrat state are now “weighing a transformative, once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the city, with the public invited to send testimonies for a site hearing on July 29.

“It’s a chance for a new neighborhood, a major economic engine and a cultural hub,” it adds. “This generational investment has the potential to generate tens of billions of dollars in economic activity, create thousands of good-paying jobs and open the door for new housing, parks and amenities.”

It is unclear whether Trump would be able to block the stadium. His predecessor as president, Joe Biden, signed a bill in one of his final acts in office transfering a 99-year term of control to the DC city government.