There has been a predictable external reaction to Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introducing President Donald Trump at a New York rally on Friday. There has also been an unpredictable internal reaction.
Giants linebacker Abdul Carter, who like Dart was a first-round pick in 2025, posted a Saturday morning message on Twitter after Dart debuted as pro-Donald.
“Thought this sh!t was AI,” Carter said. “What we doing man.”
Carter’s public complaint will make for some interesting text messages among Giants players and coaches this weekend. Things will get even more interesting when the team reconvenes on Wednesday for the next cluster of OTA practices.
Months before the first game of his first season, it’s an unexpected test for coach John Harbaugh, who already has assumed a non-neutral position as to the man who has become one of the most polarizing political figures the nation has ever seen.
Let’s be realistic about the situation. Beyond the fact that the 47th president’s approval rating has fallen far below 47 percent, most of the players in the NFL will be inclined not to embrace his policies, practices, and petulant remarks — dating all the way back to when Trump weighed in on NFL players protesting during the national anthem by saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of the bitch off the field right now‘? Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
However this one plays out, the Giants have an issue that needs to be resolved. And it traces to a decision made by the second-year quarterback who is trying to establish himself both as a capable player, and as a competent team leader.
Dart has every right to do what he wants. To support who he wants. To say what he wants. But, as Carter’s response shows, the other players on the team have the right to say what they want, too.
And this is precisely the kind of thing that can get in the way of building the kind of rapport necessary to navigate a long and demanding NFL season.
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