New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady is well known for being able to juke his way past opposing defenders on the football field, but has struggled to do the same when it comes to questions about his cozy relationship with controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump.
When asked about his ties to the GOP front-runner during an interview on WEEI Boston Sports Radio on Tuesday, he demurred yet again.
“Can I just stay out of this debate?” Brady said. “Donald is a good friend of mine. I have known him for a long time. I support all my friends. That is what I have to say. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s always been so supportive of me. For the last 15 years, since I judged a beauty pageant for him, which was one of the very first things that I did that I thought was really cool that came along with winning the Super Bowl. He’s always invited me to play golf and I’ve always enjoyed his company. I support all my friends in everything they do. I think it’s pretty remarkable what he’s achieved in his life. You’re going from business, kind of an incredible businessman and then a TV star, and then getting into politics. It’s three different career paths. I think that is pretty remarkable.”
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In September, Brady appeared to be showing enthusiasm for Trump's candidacy. Reporters spotted one of the candidate’s signature ‘Make America Great Again” hats in his locker and confronted the likely future Hall of Famer.
“It would be great. There would be a putting green on the White House lawn, I can tell you that,” Brady said at time. He stopped short of saying whether he’d vote for Trump, but praised the real estate mogul for giving him “motivational speeches” over the years.
Trump was also a vocal defender of Brady amid the Deflate-gate controversy, saying during a FOX Business Channel interview in August: “I think it’s ridiculous the way they’ve treated him. He’s a friend of mine, he’s a great friend of mine, he’s a great guy, and I think it’s ridiculous the way they’ve treated him.”
For his part, Trump had no problem gushing over the four-time Super Bowl winner and claiming that the Patriots star had indeed endorsed him. “Tom [Brady] is this incredible guy, total champion. And didn’t even want to tell me about it, he endorsed me yesterday, right? And everybody up here knows it. That’s good,” Trump said during a Rochester, New Hampshire, rally on Sept. 17. “When you get Tom you’re getting a champ, and he’s a great champ."
But then later that month, in an separate WEEI interview, Brady shot down the notion that he'd made a 2016 endorsement, dismissing his earlier praise for "The Donald" as an "an offhanded comment."
“Whatever I vote is going to be my own personal choice based on how I feel,” Brady said. “I haven’t paid attention to politics in a long time. It’s actually not something that I really even enjoy. It’s way off my radar.”
So there you have it. Brady was never for Trump, before he was never against him.