Donald Trump has only good things to say about Jaxson Dart.
During an interview on Fox News Saturday, the president was asked about the Giants quarterback receiving heat from fans after introducing Trump to an audience at Rockland Community College in Suffern last week.
“First of all, I wish I looked just like Jaxson. Is he a male model or what? He’s a handsome guy. He’s a beautiful guy,” Trump said. “You know, conservative guy. He said ‘I love you, sir.’ He’s potentially a great quarterback. He’s a young boy. He just really started.”
He went on to add when Dart is in the game “he really moves the team” and if he stays healthy the second-year quarterback is “gonna be great.”
Following the rally, Dart faced some criticism from the Giants fan base and even from his own locker room.
Abdul Carter took to X to say “Thought this s–t was AI, what we doing man.”
The post has since been deleted and Carter followed up with a post, say the two have settled the dust after speaking “as men.”
Dart went on to hold a locker room meeting to explain his decision, yet Carter did not attend due to family obligations related to the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Veterans Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jameis Winston also addressed the team.
It wasn’t until Friday that Dart and Carter both addressed the incident publicly after a Giants OTA.
“Obviously this was a unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President of the United States,” Dart said. “My thinking was pretty simple in the fact, I’ve always loved this country, I have extended family members who have fought in wars, I have two uncles who have retired from the Air Force academy and served themselves. I even have a great grandfather who served as the Secretary of the Treasury at some point. The president position has always been a position I’ve well respected regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party and my intentions were just that.”
“I also understand in this world, politics can be a sensitive matter, a sensitive topic,” he added. “I also understand that I’m the quarterback of the New York Giants and that involves a lot of responsibility.”
Carter also said his piece, noting he felt it was his “responsibility” to show his teammates and the world what he stands for. Still, he wasn’t looking for an apology from Dart.
“That doesn’t mean that we have to spread hate,” he went on. “That doesn’t mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We’re close, we talk. As long as we make sure we have the same goal as a team, and our goals align — which they do — I feel like that’s all that matter. I just want to move past this and, yeah, that’s it.”
“I don’t want him to say he’s sorry,” Carter added. “Stand on what you believe in, but it can’t be a problem when I stand on what I believe in, and that’s all that matters to me.
