New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and United States President Donald Trump, former friends, are both expected to attend Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday.
It’s been a while since the two last spoke, Kraft revealed. Trump, fresh off his second presidential race victory in November, is no longer a close friend of Kraft’s, and the 83-year-old disclosed his honest feelings for the rift in their relationship. Kraft also addressed Trump’s expected appearance at Caesars Superdome as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles square off.
“It just shows you that maybe the NFL and the Super Bowl are important if we got the president of the United States coming as a guest,” Kraft said, per Jackson Thompson and Larry Fink of FOX News.
Kraft continued: “The only donation I ever gave to him was he called me when he got elected, and I made a strong donation to his inauguration. I couldn’t believe it. It was like having someone who was a drunk fraternity brother become president of the United States.”
Their friendship came to life in the 1990s when Kraft first met Trump in Florida, the longtime Patriots owner recalled.
However, even though multiple decades and Kraft’s initial endorsement of Trump during his 2016 presidential election against former United States States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the bond didn’t last much longer.
Kraft, who donated $1 million during Trump’s inauguration fund eight years ago, didn’t donate a single cent this most recent go-around last year.
The straw that broke the camel’s back for Kraft came following Trump’s defeat from Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Thousands, mostly consisting of Trump supporters, broke into the United States Capitol and carried out a violent protest that resulted in five deaths, including the loss of a police officer on duty. Over 1,230 individuals were charged with federal crimes, per the Associated Press.
Watching the mayhem unfold was too much for Kraft to salvage his friendship.
“I will say this,” Kraft said. “I was very upset (with) what happened Jan. 6. And I haven’t talked to (Trump) since then.”
While Kraft will enjoy the sights and sounds of this years Super Bowl clash, the work toward getting New England back to the grandest stage will await him in Foxborough. The Patriots have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel along with several new coaching staff additions, the No. 4 overall pick in April’s draft and plenty of other critical roster-related decisions to make before next season kicks off.
It’s been four years since the Patriots last secured a playoff appearance and seven years since the franchise’s last trip to the Super Bowl.
