Donald Trump blasts Cleveland Guardians owners over 2022 name change at Ohio rally

Donald Trump has criticized the Dolan family, owners of the Cleveland baseball team, for changing the name from the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians.

The GOP 2024 presidential candidate briefly railed about the team’s name change, which was approved just a month before he left office in January 2021, while speaking to voters Saturday at his most recent election campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio.

‘I love sports and I love tradition. So you have a team called the Cleveland Indians. Native Americans. They are Indians. And they took the Cleveland Indians team and reached the Cleveland Guardians. Almost like they’re in charge of a trust fund,” the 77-year-old, 45th U.S. president said first before repeating the team’s name again in disbelief.

He then took a dig at Matt Dolan, who represents Ohio’s 24th District in the state Senate and was once the only Republican candidate not to fully endorse Trump in Ohio’s 2022 U.S. Senate elections. Dolan also owns a partial stake in the Guardians.

“And my position is that anyone who changes the name of the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not be a senator. Shouldn’t be governor, Trump said, adding, “I don’t know Matt Dolan, just know he’s the guy who I suspect owns the team in some form and was responsible for changing the name.’

Cleveland’s MLB team, previously known as the Indians for more than a decade, became the Guardians at the start of the 2022 season

A young Indians fan in the stands holds up a foam Chief Wahoo and Slider doll in 2018

In the first two seasons of Cleveland’s Major League Baseball franchise as the Guardians, the team made the postseason once and finished third in the AL Central last year.

Known as the Indians for more than a decade (1915-2021), Cleveland changed its name after the team faced resistance from some fans who felt that the team’s principal owner, Larry Dolan, now 93, and the father of Matt, and another of his sons were. Paul, who has been CEO/chairman of the team since 2011, gave in to the wishes of a vocal minority.

Dolan has repeatedly said his decision to turn away from Indians was driven by a response to the national reckoning with racist names and symbols.

The team wanted to find a name that fit Cleveland’s community and history, and after a year-long process that included surveys and interviews with fans, area leaders and front office members, the team chose Guardians, a name inspired by eight massive pieces of art – deco statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge near the baseball field.

Trump blasted Republican Senate candidate Matt Dolan for being behind the name change

Dolan is the son of the Guardians’ 93-year-old principal owner, Larry Dolan, who bought the team in 2005. Another son, Paul, is now chairman/CEO of the team.

However, there was a legal problem when a local roller derby team called the Cleveland Guardians filed a lawsuit against the team for alleged trademark infringement.

But eventually the two sides reached an “amicable resolution,” which allowed both teams to continue using the name.

It was the final hurdle in the name change for the AL franchise, which will play its first game of the 2024-25 season on March 28 against another team facing a name change, the Oakland Athletics.

Since the ball club moved from Columbus to Cleveland in 1900, there have been six name changes: the Cleveland Lake Shores (1900), Bluebirds (1901), Bronchos (1902), Naps (1903–1914), Indians (1915–2021), and Guardians (2021-present).

The Guardians play their home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 8 at Progressive Field.