Trump Blasts Ohio Republican’s Senate Bid Over Family’s Decision to Rebrand the Cleveland Indians
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
As former President Donald Trump continues his cavalcade of endorsement announcements for 2022 elections, one republican that does not have his support is Ohio’s Matt Dolan.
The 56-year-old entered Ohio’s crowded primary for US Senate, but Trump’s continued frustration over the Cleveland Indians’ plan to rebrand instantly negated Dolan of a sought-after endorsement.
In July, the Indians, which are owned by the Dolan family, announced they would rebrand Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team as the Guardians beginning next year.
Dolan is the son of Indians principal owner Larry Dolan and has partial ownership of the team, but holds no official position within the organization. His brother, Paul Dolan serves as the team’s chairman and CEO.
Trump lashed out at the Indians’ decision three months ago, calling it “a disgrace,” and continued to express his frustrations with the Dolan family Monday night.
Well Trump has taken note of Matt Dolan’s Senate campaign pic.twitter.com/7RWL6vKg3Z
— Matt Holt (@mattholt33) September 20, 2021
“Anybody that changes the name of the once storied Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not be running for the United States Senate representing the Great People of Ohio,” Trump said in the released statement. “The Atlanta Braves didn’t change their name, and the Florida State Seminoles didn’t change their chant, but Cleveland has, and they were there first.”
“Despite this, a man named Matt Dolan, the son of the owner of the team, said he is against Cancel Culture,” Trump continued. “Do those two things really work together?”
The Indians announced their plans to rebrand as the Guardians in July, but the franchise stated their desire to search for a new name eight months prior.
In December 2020, team CEO Paul Dolan stated he had an “epiphany” regarding the need to rebrand the Indians as he watched social unrest unfold across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd. His brother and US Senate hopeful was less supportive of the decision, calling the name change an unfortunate consequence of “culture wars.”
