Donald Trump Singles Out NFL Draft Pick for a Big Congratulations: 'You Will Be a Great Player for Years to Come'
President Donald Trump’s relationship with the NFL has been … frosty, at best.
Trump has been an outspoken critic of the national anthem protests started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
EXCLUSIVE: “You cannot disrespect our country” @POTUS interview w/ @seanhannity on Fox News Channel tonight at 9p ET https://t.co/kfXwIQlcrU pic.twitter.com/JrlifJMvMJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 11, 2017
Perhaps with anthem protests largely dying out, save for a few rogue players, it seems the president is ready to offer a rare bit of praise to the NFL. Ironically, that praise is aimed squarely at a San Francisco player.
Former Ohio State Buckeye and newly minted 49er Nick Bosa was the recipient of Trump’s praise after he was selected with the second overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft.
“Congratulations to Nick Bosa on being picked number two in the NFL Draft,” the president tweeted Saturday. “You will be a great player for years to come, maybe one of the best. Big Talent!”
Congratulations to Nick Bosa on being picked number two in the NFL Draft. You will be a great player for years to come, maybe one of the best. Big Talent! San Francisco will embrace you but most importantly, always stay true to yourself. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2019
Now, Trump is certainly no NFL scout, but it’s widely accepted that Bosa was the best player in this year’s draft. Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray went before him to the Cardinals largely because Arizona’s new head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, was utterly enamored with Murray.
Bosa, with his combination of size, speed and strength, has the profile to be a dominant edge rusher for the next decade. And given that his brother, Joey, and father, John, were also NFL first-round picks, he certainly has the pedigree to dominate as well.
But aside from general praise and a rather safe prediction, Trump also offered Bosa some sound advice in his tweet.
“San Francisco will embrace you but most importantly, always stay true to yourself,” Trump said, before adding his signature phrase, “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Given Bosa’s well-documented patriotism, that’s a good tip from the president.
Of course, Bosa has never had a problem staying true to himself on social media, a habit some of his critics have used to attack him.
In one 2016 tweet, the former Ohio State star called Kaepernick a “clown” in the wake of the anthem protests, echoing the views of Trump, whom he supports. He also was labeled a “racist” after tweeting that he didn’t like the superhero movie “Black Panther.”
Bosa toned down his presence on social media leading up to the draft, and in a post-draft news conference, he apologized for some of his comments.
“I’m sorry if I hurt anybody,” Bosa said. “I definitely didn’t intend for that to be the case.”
One way or another, it very much seems like the Niners hit a home run, no matter how obvious, with their selection of Bosa. Not only do they have an absolute star pass rusher, but they seem to have the president’s favorite NFL player as well now.
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