President Trump wants Washington Commanders, Cleveland Guardians to change names

President Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for the Washington Commanders if they don't restore their old name of the Redskins.

President wants names changed back

What they're saying:

He referred to the team on Truth Social as the Washington "Whatever's."  

"I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington," President Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

He added, "the Team would be much more valuable," if it had its former name.

The President went on to write, "Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!"

Washington Redskins logo displayed on a laptop screen and Washington Commanders logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The President said Native Americans want this change to happen. 

"Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.  Times are different now than they were three or four years ago.  We are a country of passion and common sense.  OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!"

What are the teams' plans?

The backstory:

The teams changed names in 2022 because they were considered offensive to many Native Americans.

According to FOX 5 DC, the Commanders and D.C. officials announced a plan earlier this year to redevelop the site where the franchise played for more than 30 years. But the proposal has stalled in the D.C. Council, with public hearings set for July 29–30 and a vote expected before the August recess.

Both teams say they have no plans to reverse course. It remains unclear whether President Trump has authority to block the deal. Congress has already approved transferring the site’s land to the District.