Bill Belichick interviews Donald Trump on podcast as 2024 presidential election continues to intersect with sports

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Nov 4, 2024

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — The 2024 presidential race again intersected with the sports world Monday when SiriusXM released a new Donald Trump interview with Bill Belichick and Jim Gray ahead of Election Day.

The 24-minute conversation on the “Let’s Go!” podcast primarily stuck to sports, with Trump again expressing his disdain for the “weird”-looking new NFL kickoff; acknowledging inevitable corruption in sports betting; and weighing in on equitable pay in women’s sports.

Trump described WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark as “incredible” before Belichick noted how much lower the salary caps are in women’s sports compared to men’s.

“Maybe they’ll have to change that, but it is based on the one player, it seems to be,” Trump said. “It’s sort of incredible. It’s a phenomenal thing she’s got going. But very tricky. When you start getting involved with trying to recreate markets, it gets very, very tricky. The downside is greater than the upside.”

Recorded on Sunday, the interview marked the latest interaction between the Republican candidate and Belichick.

In November 2016, Trump publicly read a congratulatory note he received from Belichick after he was elected president. In response, Belichick, who was then the Patriots’ head coach, said he was “not a political person” and described a friendship with Trump that went back “many years.”

In January 2021, Belichick declined to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump, referencing the “tragic events” that occurred days earlier when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol following President Biden’s election.

Athletes and other prominent sports figures continue to make headlines amid this year’s tightly contested presidential race between Trump and Kamala Harris.

LeBron James endorsed Harris last week, writing on X, “When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me.”

Stephen Curry, who won Olympic gold with James at the Paris Games this summer, endorsed Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

Magic Johnson, Steve Kerr, Billie Jean King, Doc Rivers, Candace Parker and Chris Paul are among the members of a campaign group called “Athletes for Harris.”

Trump, meanwhile, received support from San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa, who crashed a live “Sunday Night Football” interview last month wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker supported Trump for being “pro-life” and created a political action committee that urged Christians to vote for “traditional values.” Butker made headlines earlier this year with a controversial Benedictine College commencement speech in which he condemned Pride month and opined about women prioritizing the role of homemaker.

In October, Trump attended the Jets’ “Sunday Night Football” game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Jets owner Woody Johnson served as Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017-21.

And former Jets running back Le’Veon Bell has repeatedly urged his social media followers to vote for Trump. On Saturday, Bell wrote on X, “I’m leaving the country if Kamala Harris wins.”