Over the years, NFL quarterback Tom Brady has been in the headlines as a prime supporter of Donald Trump. Before Trump became the US President in 2016, he thanked Brady for his endorsements. However, Brady rejected Trump’s 2016 offer despite having a great friendship. At that time, Trump wanted the quarterback to speak at the Republican National Convention (RNC). “I wasn’t going to do anything political,” Brady replied to the offer. Following Tom Brady, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter chose a similar pathway. 

Unarguably, there’s no denying that Donald Trump has had solid connections in the sports world. Whether it was the New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera or the late Bronx owner George Steinbrenner, he enjoyed being with sports personalities. Likewise, remembering a similar incident, Trump gave Derek Jeter the role of a vice president back in 2016. However, Jeter showed no signs and garnered his thoughts on Trump’s VP offer. 

Derek Jeter’s Negligence on Donald Trump’s offer

Donald Trump got a good amount of support from the sports fraternity. But, when it came to Derek Jeter, the shortstop was skeptical about the new political role. The New York Times asked Derek Jeter to talk about being Trump’s vice president, to which he replied, “That sounds like too much work.” However, despite Jeter rejecting Trump’s offer, the former US President still had plenty of supporters.

While Brady was one supporter endorsing Donald Trump, some other big names were also a part of the 2016 Trump journey. The New York Jets center player publicly endorsed Trump at an Ohio rally in 2016, where NASCAR CEO Brian France and golfer John Daily joined him. Not just that, the former US president was close to plenty of NYC sports stars during the 1980s and 1990s.

After being elected as the US president in 2016, Derek Jeter made his comments very clear on Trump by saying, “There’s been so much talk about the election, I think people are tired of hearing about the election. Do I know (Trump)? Yeah. I’ve known him. He’s always treated me good, best way to put it.”

Undoubtedly, Jeter has not been the guy who will give political opinions. Therefore, if he had spoken about Donald Trump, the former US president might have treated the Yankees’ former captain, pretty well. Also, apart from Derek Jeter and the late George Steinbrenner (father of Hal Steinbrenner), Trump cherished a meaningful bond with yet another Yankees legend. 

Trump and his sweet connection with the Yankees legend Mariano Rivera

Former US President Donald Trump has been a Yankees fan for decades. Since his childhood, Trump admired the Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Also, he was fond of collecting baseball cards when he was young and even did a few pitching before baseball games. Later, when Trump became an entrepreneur, he met the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and occasionally asked for help regarding his newly purchased New Jersey Generals football team. 

Eventually, in 2016, Trump became close friends with Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera. Speaking about their friendship, both have been close friends since their Hall of Fame days. Also, in the 2016 election supporting his friend Riviera made his stance on Trump pretty clear.

Speaking with the host Sid Rosenberg about Donald Trump, he said, “I can’t deny that. I will tell that to anyone. Before he was the president, he was my friend. Because of that, I’m going to vote for him.” Since Trump first stood for the 2016 elections, Mariano Rivera always supported Trump and valued their friendship and close bond.

Further, as their friendship grew, both met at the White House in 2020 to witness the youth baseball players’ game. What’s more? In 2019, Riviera received a medal from Donald Trump for his astonishing sports brilliance on the pitching mound. However, not all personalities are the same, especially in a dynamic world like sports.

It seems like Derek Jeter, even though he turned down Trump’s offer, may still have respect for the former US president. Will Jeter support Donald Trump in the 2024 elections? We probably will have to wait and see!