Donald Trump clearly has support among NFL players, as Raiders stars Max Crosby and Gardner Minshew posed with the former US president at his Las Vegas hotel.
On Friday, snapshots of the Raiders’ star defensive end and new starting quarterback went viral on X-rated as both Crosby and Minshew flashed a thumbs-up while taking photos wearing No. 45, perhaps a nod to the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
“Nevada is Trump country,” wrote Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz as the title of his Crosby and Gardner post featuring Trump, 78.
At 6’3″ tall, Trump is similar to Minshew and only a few inches shorter than Crosby, attributes one user noted on X.
“Trump is a big guy, those guys are big… I love it!” the MAGA supporter noted.
Donald Trump received a warm welcome in Raiders country from two of the team’s stars on Friday.
Alex Bruesewitz, Trump’s 2024 campaign advisor, said on X that “Nevada is Trump country”
Another X user suggested that Crosby had hooked up with the former US president for his birthday. Crosby, 27, was born on August 22, 1997.
Trump has had a notable relationship with the sport of American football, both at the professional and collegiate levels.
In the 1980s, Trump tried numerous times to become an NFL team owner, but was never successful in his attempts.
In the mid-1980s, Trump became owner of the New Jersey Generals of the rival United States Football League (USFL) and led the league in a lawsuit against the NFL to try to force a merger.
Trump (seen in 2012) has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the NFL over the years.
The USFL won a futile victory in the lawsuit, albeit without a merger or a substantial financial victory. Trump’s actions have been widely seen as a major factor in the USFL’s dissolution shortly afterward.
During his presidency, Trump called for a boycott of the NFL over kneeling protests during the U.S. national anthem involving many players, and some analysts viewed Trump’s comments as part of his ongoing feud with the NFL.
As president, Trump attended several high-profile parties, mostly in the South.
According to a 2018 article in The hillTrump favored college sports during his time in office because of his high-profile feud with athletes and associates in professional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA.