'Indians must be very angry': Trump condemns plans to rename sports teams as 'political correctness'

President reportedly views white grievances as a key to his re-election

Donald Trump has slammed efforts to rename prominent sports teams amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, suggesting “Indians” must be “very angry” over plans to rename the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians.

The president wrote in a tweet on Monday: “They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct.”

He also attacked Elizabeth Warren, who he has previously dubbed “Pocahontas” — a nickname with racial connotations that he gave her after the Massachusetts senator said she had Native American ancestry.

Mr Trump wrote: “Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!”

The movement of demonstrations calling for racial justice sparked a debate in which sponsors of the NFL and Major League Baseball, including Nike and FedEx, demanded changes to the controversial team names.

Both teams have said they would consider overhauling their identities, with the Cleveland Indians saying in a statement: “The recent unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organisation on issues of social justice.”

The statement continued: “With that in mind, we are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.

Mr Trump, who reportedly views white grievance as a key to securing his re-election, has seen plummeting approval ratings amid the nationwide protests and continued coronavirus pandemic, which has killed at least 130,000 Americans since the outbreak began in March.

The president has continued to seemingly amplify racism, the Washington Post reported, tweeting videos of his own supporters chanting “White Power!” and hurling incendiary insults about protestors on Twitter.

His frequent decisions to weigh in on everything from the toppling of statues representing Confederate leaders to the renaming of sports teams has reportedly unnerved the president’s Republican allies on Capital Hill.