White House confirms Donald Trump is serious about threats for Washington Commanders to change name back to Redskins

President Donald Trump called for the Washington Commanders — previously known as the Redskins — to revert back to their former name. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump threatened to hold up the deal for a new football stadium in Washington should the team not go back to the Redskins name.

One day after Trump made the threat, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke to reporters. She confirmed that the president’s comments were not a joke.

“The president was serious,” Leavitt said Monday, via the Associated Press. “Sports is one of the many passions of this president. He wants to see the name of that team changed.”

Earlier this year, the Commanders announced their plans to build a new stadium. The organization plans to build the stadium on the site of RFK Stadium, the team’s home venue from 1961 to 1996. The new stadium would be near the Anacostia River, along East Capitol Street in Washington’s Hill East neighborhood.

The project is estimated to cost $3.7 billion and begin construction in 2026. It is expected to be completed in 2030. While the project hasn’t encountered too much friction until now, the plans are still pending approval by the D.C. Council, with legislation introduced June 25. Now, Trump is getting involved.

“I think you’ve seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not,” Leavitt said. “He’s a nontraditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people and, if you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country, and even in this city, people actually do support the president’s position on this and the name change.”

What led to Washington Commanders changing team name?

After a period of civil unrest in the United States following George Floyd’s death in May 2020, Washington was under more pressure than ever to change its name. A letter signed by 87 shareholders and investors worth a combined $620 billion was sent to three companies that are sponsors of the NFL and/or of Washington’s team: FedEx, PepsiCo and Nike.

The signees had a simple but massive request: cut ties with the Washington Redskins unless they changed their name. Just nine days later, Dan Snyder, the team’s owner at the time, announced Washington would be retiring the Redskins name and logo. For two NFL seasons, Washington played as the Football Team before officially changing their name to the Commanders in 2022. Josh Harris, whose group purchased the team from Snyder in July 2023, said earlier this year that the Commanders name would not change.

“I think it’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff. So, we’re going with that,” Harris said. “Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. It’s really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning.”