New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has attempted to clear the air with his teammates following backlash over his introduction of President Donald Trump at a recent rally in New York. The 23-year-old NFL star welcomed Trump to the lectern at Rockland Community College in Suffern on Friday, calling him a “future Hall of Fame-er” and a “beautiful guy.”
Dart’s appearance drew criticism from some of his teammates, including outside linebacker Abdul Carter, who posted on X over the weekend: “Thought this s*** was AI, what we doing man.” Carter later said that he and Dart had a conversation and were on good terms. The quarterback addressed the issue during a team meeting on Tuesday, where veterans Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Jameis Winston also spoke, according to ESPN and NFL Network sources.
One of the topics discussed in the meeting was the importance of keeping issues “internal” rather than airing grievances publicly, per ESPN. Offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor had already insisted in an X post on Saturday that the “Locker Room is fine.”
The rally, held to support Republican Representative Mike Lawler’s reelection campaign, saw Trump praise Dart as a “future Hall of Fame-er” and a “beautiful guy.” However, the quarterback’s appearance sparked mixed reactions online and on television, including on The View. Co-host Joy Behar criticised Dart, noting that more than half of NFL players are Black and calling his support for Trump “the definition of stupidity and racist.” Co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin countered that Dart was entitled to his own opinion.
