President Trump raises controversy over Cleveland Indians name change

Photo by Charles Murray

Cleveland officially changed the team’s name to the Guardians on July 23,2021 taking effect at the end of the 2021 season.

Many lifelong fans were unhappy with the name change. Some believed the organization fell to pressure by the league to change the name.

Just when most had settled in to calling Cleveland’s baseball team the Guardians a social media post from none other than President Trump has stirred things up. He first began chastising the Washington Commanders for their name change from the Redskins. Trump had this to say about Cleveland’s baseball team making personal attacks at Matt Dolan as well saying….“The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three elections in a row now because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. Make Indians Great Again (MIGA).”

Guardians’ president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti responded on Sunday saying that the team is “excited about the future” as they continue to build their brand as the Guardians “Not something I’m tracking or have been paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally I understand that there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago,” Antonetti said. “But obviously it’s a decision we’ve made, and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future.”

Former Cleveland pitcher, John Rocker, took to X to give his opinion and he didn’t mince any words.

I played for the Cleveland Indians. I know Indians fans.

THEY WANT TO BE CALLED THE FUCKING INDIANS AGAIN

— JohnRocker (@itsJohnRocker) July 21, 2025

 

 

Trump attempted to purchase the Cleveland baseball franchise from former owner Steve O’Neill’s estate in 1983. His bid was rejected, and the team was sold to real estate developer Richard Jacobs, who then sold the team to members of the Dolan family in 2000.

If you go to the ballpark now you still see a mixture of Guardians and Indians gear worn by fans. Trump fanned embers that were slowly dying since 2021 and the debate about the name is back in conversations.