Former President Donald Trump is apparently a big Robert Saleh fan.
Trump claimed Friday night that he called Saleh to congratulate him after the Jets’ miraculous comeback win over the Browns last Sunday. Trump made the assertion during a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.
“It was the craziest thing,” said Trump after providing a cliff notes recap of the fourth-quarter mayhem for the crowd.
“And I called the coach, because I think the coach is like a great guy. General manager (Joe Douglas), too, coach. And I said, ‘Coach, you’re greater than Vince Lombardi.’ Because Vince Lombardi never did that. He was never able to pull out a game like that. That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. The game was done. It was over.”
Trump brought up the Jets for a reason. Team owner Woody Johnson and his wife, Suzanne, were in attendance at the rally according to Trump. He pointed to them off-stage, but the stream camera did not pan out to show them. Woody Johnson served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom during Trump’s presidency and was a top donor and fundraiser for Trump during the 2016 and 2020 election cycles.
Saleh will be asked about Trump’s claim after the Jets’ Week 3 game against the Bengals. But whether he did or didn’t take a phone call from Trump is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The more newsworthy item here is that Johnson remains an open supporter of Trump. Even as the former president continues to lie about a rigged election and after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol (an event Johnson did condemn at the time). It will be interesting to see how that goes over inside the league. And if generates more buzz regarding Johnson selling the team.
Donald Trump’s rally in North Carolina has gotten way off track. He’s now providing a recap of the New York Jets' comeback win over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday.
"I called the coach … I said, 'Coach, you're greater than Vince Lombardi.'" pic.twitter.com/q4oTNuxDaA
— The Recount (@therecount) September 24, 2022
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch.
