Trump slams Cleveland Indians 'name change decision' as 'cancel culture at work' and 'not good news'

DONALD Trump slammed the Cleveland Indians name change plan as "cancel culture at work," saying the decision was "not good news."

The president made the comments after news broke on Sunday that the team would be changing their name after facing years of backlash.


Late Sunday night, Trump shared a story about the name change to Twitter and added his own commentary: "Oh no! What is going on? This is not good news, even for “Indians”. Cancel culture at work!"

When the team first announced that it was considering a name change over the summer, Trump was quick to criticize the plan then as well.

The Cleveland baseball team has gone by the "Indians" name since 1915, but has been under increasing pressure from Native American groups and others to lose the name, as many feel it is racist and offensive.

The franchise got rid of its Chief Wahoo logo and mascot in 2018 after the league decided it was "no longer appropraite," according to Yahoo! Sports.

Just the letter "C" has been used in place of the former logo, which the franchise has previously claimed was originally intended to honor former player Louis Sockalexis.

Sockalexis, who played for the Cleveland Spiders in the 1800s, was a member of the Penobscot Nation — and some have suggested that team adopt the name Spiders as a replacement.

Sources speaking to the New York Times said that the team would follow in the footsteps of the the NFL's Washington Football Team (who recently dropped the "Redskins" name) and use a temporary team name substitute before consulting with fans for a permanent replacement.

One of the sources said the Cleveland MLB team will keep the Indians name on uniforms throughout 2021 while planning the rebrand.

In July, while the US was experiencing a nationwide social justice reckoning, the franchise released a statement that said recent unrest "underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice."

"Our organization fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community," the statement said.

At that time, Trump also took to Twitter to slam both the Cleveland baseball team and the Washington football team as "weak" for considering name changes.

"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," the President wrote.

"Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!"

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