President Donald Trump caused great euphoria this Sunday by demanding that the sports teams Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians restore their historic names: Redskins and Indians.
On his social media, Trump denounced the "excessive political correctness" that led to the elimination of these names and stated that it's time to return these teams to their traditional identities, in a message aimed at the owners of both franchises who promoted this change.
The president stated that there is great demand for both teams to return to the names that for decades proudly represented their respective cities and fan communities.
"Our great indigenous people, in large numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige are being systematically erased," he wrote.
Teams that have abandoned their roots
The Commanders are an American football team that have historically been known as the Redskins. After years of pressure from left-wing groups, the team's owners changed its name in 2020 before officially adopting the name Commanders in 2022.
Under fire by the same pressure tactics, the Cleveland Indians, a baseball team, also set aside their traditional name and became the Cleveland Guardians in the 2022 season.
These changes do not represent social progress, but rather cultural setbacks for the U.S. president, who, in his view, erasing names with decades of history and sports tradition in the name of modern sensibility disconnects teams from their roots and their fans.
As President Trump has emphasized, times have changed since 2020 and now many Americans oppose this kind of revisionism.
