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Jaxson Dart faced the music last week when he gave a statement in response to introducing President Donald Trump at an event in New York.
The New York Giants quarterback was invited to introduce Trump, and it prompted backlash from fans, media and even teammate Abdul Carter.
Nonetheless, Dart addressed the situation in an effort to put it in the past, yet in doing so, he received further backlash from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
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New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart greets President Donald Trump during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Dart explained that he had a “unique opportunity” to introduce the president of the United States, and “the President position has always been a position that I’ve well respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party and, you know, my intentions were just that.”
But Florio said that Dart “punted” on “the most important question” he was asked by the press — if he realized why the decision to introduce Trump was controversial.
“That’s the only question that needed to be answered,” Florio said on Monday’s edition of “Pro Football Talk Live.” “And well, ‘I’ll refer back to my statement,’ but your statement doesn’t address that. Your statement tries to make it apolitical. You can’t. It’s impossible to make that gesture at this moment, in this time, apolitical. Merely being there and introducing the president is a political statement.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and President Donald Trump attend an event inside Eugene Levy Fieldhouse at Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. Trump spoke about his economic accomplishments in the toss-up congressional district represented by Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for reelection in the November midterm elections. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)
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“That’s where I think we need to be realistic, and anybody who would say it’s not political is trying to advance their own agenda to excuse Dart and criticize Abdul Carter.”
Carter said on X that he thought a video of Dart and Trump was “AI,” adding, “What are we doing man?”
Dart added that he understands politics are “a sensitive matter” and that being the team’s starting quarterback carries responsibility. Dart and Carter hugged it out after they spoke to the media about the ordeal.
“Stand on what you believe in. But it can’t be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That’s all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good,” Carter said.
“I mean, we just talked,” Dart added. “You know, me and Abdul came here at the same time. We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We’ve experienced adversity through a season and had to have each other’s backs and that’s exactly what we continued to do today.”
Giants linebacker Abdul Quarter says there is no beef between him and quarterback Jaxson Dart after he made an appearance at an event featuring President Donald Trump. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images and Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Jameis Winston said he was “proud of” Dart and Carter “for having this conversation and getting in front of y’all and speaking what they would love.
“I’m proud of our team for understanding that we don’t have to pick a side in this,” he added.
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