Trump calls out Fernando Mendoza: “He’s a big fan of what we’re doing for our country”
The U.S. president publicly claimed the Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback supports him and his policies
From thanking his grandparents for emigrating from Cuba to the United States to now being linked, at least publicly, to Donald Trump’s political movement, Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza has unexpectedly found himself in the spotlight.
Mendoza did not attend Monday’s White House ceremony celebrating Indiana’s championship, but he was still mentioned during the president’s speech. Speaking in front of reporters, Trump said the quarterback personally reached out to explain his absence, and made a revealing claim in the process.
Does Fernando Mendoza support Donald Trump?
“The reason he’s not here - he was so nice, he called because he has actually… he’s a big fan of ours,” Trump said.
“You wouldn’t believe it, because he didn’t show up. I’m not happy, but that’s OK. The reason he didn’t [come is] because he’s at spring training, right?”
Trump then made it clear he would have handled the situation differently if the absence had been for other reasons:
“If he was not here for other reasons, like he didn’t like Trump or he didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t even mention him,” he said. “I’d go through the whole speech… I wouldn’t even mention the quarterback’s name.”
Despite the absence, Trump doubled down on his praise:
“But he’s a great guy, actually, and he is actually a big fan of what we’re doing for our country,” he added.
Interestingly, the Raiders’ OTAs don’t actually start until May 18, while the White House visit occurred on May 11. So in fact, Mendoza would not have been in spring training at that time.
Silence from Mendoza
The comments have now cast doubt over Mendoza’s public image, particularly given his Cuban roots and past association with the Latino community.
So far, he has not issued any statement confirming or denying Trump’s claims. For now, the only account of that alleged support comes directly from the president himself.
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