Former President Donald Trump is back with another hot take that no one asked for, and what’s worse? It’s a completely predictable gripe coming from a guy with nothing but time on his hands and limited ways to share his racist leanings with the public.
That’s right, we’re talking about the recent name change of one of the MLB’s most famous (or infamous) teams, the Cleveland Indians. Early Friday, the team shared the announcement that they were dropping the offensive mascot that’s come to define ballclub over the decades and renaming themselves the Cleveland Guardians to honor the city’s values and pay tribute to its iconic bridge. The team surveyed fans before announcing the name change, and a majority of people seem to be on board with the switch — it helps when you get national treasure Tom Hanks to narrate your PR announcement. But guess who wasn’t happy? That’s right, Donald Trump.
“Can anybody believe that the Cleveland Indians, a storied and cherished baseball franchise since taking the name in 1915, are changing their name to the Guardians? Such a disgrace,” Trump said in an emailed statement via Mediaite. “I guarantee that the people who are most angry about it are the many Indians of our Country. Wouldn’t it be an honor to have a team named the Cleveland Indians, and wouldn’t it be disrespectful to rip that name and logo off of those jerseys?”
Actually, no Don. Plenty of Indigenous Rights groups and activists have expressed dismay over the racist caricature of their culture and the fact that the MLB has made money over it all these years. Try again.
“The people of Cleveland cannot be thrilled and I, as a FORMER baseball fan, cannot believe things such as this are happening,” Trump continued. “A small group of people, with absolutely crazy ideas and policies, is forcing these changes to destroy our culture and heritage. At some point, the people will not take it anymore!”
First, we’re shocked that Trump has labeled himself a baseball fan because we’ve only ever seen him play golf and get booed at stadiums, but ok. The problem with this attack that’s even more egregious is the fact that Trump seems to think Indigenous culture is his culture. Your ancestors are German and Scottish, bud. Sit down.
(Via Mediaite)