Never let it be said that President Donald Trump is a man without strong opinions, or the ability to adapt his favorite acronym to fit any occasion.

President Trump opined on Sunday morning that the names of the Washington DC NFL team (previously the Redskins, now the Commanders) and the Cleveland MLB team (previously the Indians, now the Guardians) should be changed back to their original names, correctly noting that the tenor of the country has changed since 2020 (when the Redskins officially dropped their name – the Indians announced they would be changing their name after the 2021 season).

It’s worth noting that neither name change happened without controversy – Washington couldn’t decide on a name right away, but since it was so important to not be the Redskins anymore, the team spent two seasons as the “Washington Football Team” before settling on the name Commanders in 2022. Cleveland picked the name “Guardians” and then was sued became someone in their legal department didn’t do their due diligence, and ended up having to settle with the roller derby team that already bore the name.

It also should be pointed out that both teams still live off the legacy of their previous names. Washington won three Super Bowls under the Redskins name, and two championships in 1937 and 1942, before the Super Bowl was even created. Cleveland won both its World Series titles under the Indians name, and still sells Indians-branded items, and thanks to the “Major League” movies, there is always a market for “Vaughn” Indians jerseys. The name changes are also only a few years old, so there isn’t much emotional attachment to these names by fans.

President Trump probably didn’t expect his comments to get as much attention as they did, but once he had people’s attention, he took full advantage to press his point – and rework his favorite slogan.

Donald J. Trump Truth Social 07.20.25 03:35 PM EST pic.twitter.com/zUh48Uybfw

— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 20, 2025

Now, Trump really doesn’t have any leverage over the Cleveland Guardians, and their team president has already stated that no name change back to the Indians will be happening. However, the Washington Commanders are a different story. The team currently plays at Northwest Stadium in Maryland, outside of DC. The team wants a new stadium built within Washington DC itself, on the old RFK Stadium site. The city council has yet to approve the funding package for the stadium, and now President Trump could be throwing even more of a wrench in the works. Remember, Washington DC is a federal city, and while the city council handles a lot, the federal government is the ultimate authority within the District of Columbia.

Trump said that the Commanders would be “much more valuable” if they restored their old name.

“I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington,” Trump said on his social media site.

His latest interest in changing the names reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice. Washington announced it would drop its former name and logo in 2020 during a broader reckoning with systemic racism and police brutality.

The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades.

Trump’s ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January that transferred the land from the federal government to the District of Columbia.

The provision was part of a short-term spending bill passed by Congress in December. Though D.C. residents elect a mayor, a city council and commissioners to run day-to-day operations, Congress maintains control of the city’s budget.

Josh Harris, whose group bought the Commanders from former owner Dan Snyder in 2023, said earlier this year that the name was here to stay. Not long after taking over, Harris quieted speculation about going back to the former name, saying that would not happen. The team did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Trump’s social media posts Sunday.

Is the name of the football team in the Washington DC area really a matter of great national import? Nope. But do Native Americans really care about the name itself? According to polling data, they do not. Certain politicians and interest groups have more opinions about this than actual native tribes apparently do. Imagine the jokes to come.

"Jayden Daniels is here. Hell yeah. Yeah. Did you hear that Trump wants his team to be called the Redskins again? Yeah. It's true. In fact the person most upset by this is Senator Elizabeth Warren." https://t.co/ZSbXgz3YlC pic.twitter.com/OivwVhX3bg

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 21, 2025

But unlike the renaming of military bases, this is something that up until now, the president had really no control over, real or perceived. And just because the land was transferred doesn’t mean that Trump could not throw the entire plan into chaos. As of this moment, the stadium itself is still in limbo between the city and the team. And Trump was just asked about this as the deal is being examined by the city council.

Even President Donald Trump has weighed in. Asked by a reporter on July 6 about the D.C. Council not yet approving the RFK Stadium deal, Trump said, “I don’t blame them.” He said he’d be willing to help out if needed.

“It’s a very important piece of property,” Trump said, adding that he thought it would be a great home for the new NFL stadium. “If they want to negotiate a little tough, that’s okay with me.”

It seems that the president has found an additional chip that he would like to play while the city council is being “a little tough.” The team is already having to convince the city council to commit $1.1 billion into the stadium project, and they are definitely balking at the price tag (the team has committed to $2.7 billion of investment). I don’t think that the city council is looking for a name change, but Trump stepping into the conversation may push them to get the deal approved. Or, it might hamstring the entire process.

I doubt the team is going to want to look like they have caved to President Trump in any way, but he definitely has everyone talking now – and he probably has the team’s lawyers working overtime. So, it is time to “MIGA”?

Featured image: President Trump at Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025, from the White House Flickr account, Official White House photo by Daniel Torok, cropped, United States government work in the public domain