Donald Trump links up with Raiders duo Maxx Crosby and Gardner Minshew at his Vegas hotel
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, photos of the Raiders’ star defensive end and new quarterback went viral on X. Crosby and Minshew both gave thumbs up when photos were taken of them wearing number 45, in what could be a sign of approval for the Republican presidential candidate for 2024.
“Nevada is Trump Country,” Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump campaign adviser, wrote in the caption of his post about Crosby and Gardner with the 78-year-old Trump.
At 6 feet 3 inches, Trump is about the same height as Minshew and just a few inches taller than Crosby. These traits caught the eye of one X user.
“Trump is a big guy, those guys are so big… Awesome!!,” the MAGA supporter noted.
Donald Trump was warmly welcomed to Raiders country on Friday by two of the team’s stars
Alex Bruesewitz — an adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign — claimed on X that ‘Nevada is Trump Country’
Another user on X suggested that Crosby had contacted the former US president for his birthday. Crosby, 27, was born on August 22, 1997.
Trump has a notable connection to the sport of American Football, both at the professional and collegiate levels.
In the 1980s, Trump tried several times to own an NFL team, but was never successful.
In the mid-1980s, Trump became the owner of a team, the New Jersey Generals, in the rival United States Football League (USFL), and led the league in a lawsuit against the NFL to force a merger.
Trump (seen in 2012) has had a rocky relationship with the NFL over the years
The USFL won a meaningless victory in the lawsuit, but without a merger or a substantial financial victory. Trump’s actions are widely seen as a major factor in the USFL’s dissolution shortly thereafter.
During his presidency, Trump called for a boycott of the NFL over the kneeling protests during the U.S. national anthem, in which many players participated. Some analysts saw Trump’s comments as part of his ongoing feud with the NFL.
As president, Trump attended several major races, mostly in the South.
According to a 2018 article in The hillTrump favored college athletics during his time in office because of his high-profile feuds with athletes and colleagues in professional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA.