Donald Trump Jr. Has Something To Say About Tom Brady
Donald Trump Jr. was one of the millions watching the 2021 Super Bowl, and the former president's son shared his astonished reaction to Tom Brady winning his seventh title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"There is no question anymore as to who the GOAT is," Trump Jr. tweeted, adding that it "wasn't coaching" that led to victory, "it was Brady and it always was." The Trump Organization's vice president continued by declaring, "That argument was settled tonight when he took a team no one thought could win anything to the #SuperBowl and won at 43 years of age. Amazing." He finished by giving a friendly congratulations to "Tom."
The former president's son then corrected himself when one Twitter user mentioned former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. "I take back my previous Tom Brady = GOAT tweet. He's a distant second greatest of all time," Trump Jr. added in a follow-up tweet. Given his past comments about Colin Kaepernick and his political activism, it's fair to assume Trump Jr. was joking. In 2018, he responded to a controversial Nike advertisement starring Kaepernick by photoshopping his father's head over the football player, as CBS reported, so it's probably safe to say he's not Kaepernick's biggest fan.
Donald Trump Jr. hasn't always been a fan of the NFL
Despite his positive reaction to Tom Brady's victory, Donald Trump Jr. has not always been the biggest fan of the NFL. Some Twitter users were quick to point out his hypocrisy in watching the game after his family spent the past few years criticizing the organization.
His father, Donald Trump, previously called for an NFL boycott due to players protesting racial inequality in 2020, declaring that he would no longer watch any games if players knelt during the national anthem, as the BBC reported. Trump Jr. also slammed the NFL for allowing players to express their political opinions, calling for them to put "the names of police officers killed in the line of duty on their helmets too" in a tweet from August 2020.
In 2017, Trump Jr. also tweeted about Roger Goodell after the NFL commissioner criticized the then-president. "If only Roger Goodell cared as much about domestic abuse and traumatic brain injury as he does about disrespecting America," he wrote in defense of his father. The Trump Organization's vice president also called for an #NFLBoycott via his Twitter.
In 2021, Trump Jr. may have felt more enthusiasm for the sport, but he still objected to any political statement at the Big Game, tweeting, "One comercial in and it's already woketopia."
Donald Trump Jr.'s Super Bowl tweets got a mixed reception
So how has the internet reacted to Donald Trump Jr.'s batch of 2021 Super Bowl tweets? Some Twitter users enjoyed the former president's son's commentary, while others were quick to throw dirt Trump Jr.'s way. If only Jr. had the Jason Alexander hoodie!
"Didn't know would find anything where we converge," one Twitter user replied gleefully under Trump Jr.'s praise of Tom Brady. Trump Jr. then replied, "There's always something. Kind of nice though, right?" Another pushed back merely on Trump Jr.'s singlehanded praise of Brady (there's no "I" in "team," after all). "Literally every analyst last year said they would be a contender if they had a decent QB," the user wrote.
Others were more critical, calling out Trump Jr.'s hypocrisy over his previous NFL boycott. "I THOUGHT MAGA CANCELLED THE NFL," one wrote. Others called out Trump Jr.'s refusal to accept a different victory. "I refuse to acknowledge the Bucs win tonight. I demand the game be replayed. It was rigged, illegitimate Superbowl. Chiefs were winning in first quarter then I turned it off and just like that the Bucs won. Chiefs are the real Super Bowl Champions....See how silly that sounds?" one Twitter user wrote, arguably imitating Trump Jr.'s response to the 2020 presidential election results.
Some simply pointed out typos in Donald Trump Jr.'s Super Bowl commentary. Under his woketopia tweet; "It's 'commercial' NOT comercial," one fan commented. Ouch.
Donald Trump Jr. wasn't the only former Trump figure to praise Tom Brady
Donald Trump Jr. was not the only former Trump White House official to praise Tom Brady's Super Bowl LV performance. "TOMPA BAY," former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted triumphantly on Feb. 7, 2021, alongside a football emoji. "TAMPA BAY: TITLE TOWN, Let's Go Bucs!!!" she also posted earlier, while posing outside with a Brady cardboard cutout.
It may also be worth noting, as Trump Jr. and other members' praise came pouring in, that Donald Trump and Brady are not exactly strangers. In 2015, a "Make America Great Again" hat was spotted in Brady's locker. Brady said it was a gift from Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Trump donor. Even so, Brady and the former president have played a few rounds of golf together.
"He just doesn't lose," Brady told GQ around that time on Trump's golf game. However, in 2017, it appeared those ties were severed, or at least frayed, as Brady did not attend the Patriots' post-Super Bowl trip to the White House. Brady also told The Boston Globe, "I'm not talking politics anymore," in 2016.
That said, Brady has definitely been dragged for his Trump affiliations (albeit not to the extent players like Colin Kaepernick have been treated for getting political, as people have pointed out). Regardless, perhaps there's more behind Donald Trump Jr.'s praise than just Tom Brady's impressive gameplay.