Not sure they appreciated the idea: fans of the Washington Commanders American football team loudly criticized American President Donald Trump this Sunday. Returning from a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Donald Trump stopped in Maryland before returning to the nearby White House. It is in fact in this small state near Washington that Northeast Stadium is located, the enclosure currently occupied by the Commanders.
Pres. Trump became the first commander-in-chief in the stands at a regular-season NFL game since 1978, attending Sunday’s Commanders-Lions contest in Landover, Maryland.
At halftime, the president read an oath for military members to recite as part of an on-field ceremony. pic.twitter.com/zt795QPh2h
— ABC News (@ABC) November 10, 2025
However, a few days ago, an article in the American press indicated that Donald Trump would particularly appreciate having his name given to the future stadium of the team in the American capital. The Commanders have played at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, since 1997. Previously, the franchise played in Washington, DC, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK Stadium), from 1961 to 1996.
But in April, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an agreement to bring the Commanders back to Washington, to the site of the former RFK Stadium. Josh Harris, who heads the Commanders’ ownership group, said the team is aiming for the stadium to open in 2030. With what name? No one within the sports organization has ventured to make a statement on the subject. Perhaps for fear of scaring his own fans.
Un Donald Trump stadium ?
The possibility of a “Donald Trump stadium” in any case pleased the White House. “It would definitely be a wonderful name, because it is thanks to President Trump that the reconstruction of the new stadium was possible,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CNN.
Donald Trump had rather put a spoke in the wheels of the project, in reality. Engaged in a war against what he calls “woke ideology”, the President of the United States, visibly obsessed with the naming of things, had in fact threatened to remove all subsidies if the Commanders did not return to their original surname, the Redskins. The team abandoned the name in 2020 after decades of criticism from Native American groups who considered it an ethnic slur and a denigrating reference to skin color.
A president who interferes to this extent in the functioning of their favorite team: Commanders fans obviously did not like it. And they made it known with boos during Donald Trump’s appearance on the stadium’s giant screen. At halftime, the president read an oath that the soldiers had to recite during a ceremony on the field. His speech, barely audible, was drowned out by protests from the crowd. He tried to put on a good face, raising his fist and greeting the crowd, but his grin reflected all his embarrassment, while the Republican Party recorded electoral setbacks last week, against a backdrop of shutdown, merciless fight against immigration, and galloping inflation.
