The Washington Commanders ditched the former Redskins name in July of 2020, but President Donald Trump believes the team should revert to their original name. While speaking to reporters, Trump said that he wouldn’t have changed the name in the first place, while noting a change is unlikely while the team keeps winning.
“You want me to make a controversial statement?” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have changed the name [from Redskins to Commanders]. It doesn’t have the same ring to me, but winning can make anything sound good, so if they win all of a sudden the Commanders sounds good.
Donald Trump: Washington Should Ditch Commanders, Go Back to Redskins
Washington’s football team went by the name ‘Redskins’ since 1933 but didn’t generate real criticism until the 1960s, with real pressure to change the name mounting in the 1990s. Under former owner Daniel Snyder, the team officially changed the name from ‘Washington Redskins’ to ‘Washington Football Team’ in 2020 before settling on ‘Washington Commanders’ on February 2, 2022.
Since the name change, Washington’s football team has made the playoffs twice: once as the Football Team in 2020 and once as the Commanders in 2024. While the 2020 Football Team went one-and-done against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Commanders made a deep playoff run. Led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and first-year head coach Dan Quinn, the Commanders made it to the NFC Championship Game before losing the the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite the latest comments by Donald Trump, the Commanders are unlikely to change their name back to the Redskins. Even before factoring in the potential backlash to the racially-charged term, the new ownership group led by Josh Harris probably want to minimize any association with Daniel Snyder and his poor ownership.
