When the New York Giants drafted standout pass rusher Abdul Carter with the third overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, they likely did so with visions of the Penn State superstar making life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
They probably didn’t quite expect Carter to be an issue for the Giants’ own quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who was taken 25th overall by the Giants in the 2025 Draft.
To wit, on May 22, Dart appeared at an event in New York where he gave a warm introduction for President Donald Trump:
NOW: New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduces President Trump before his speech in New York. pic.twitter.com/3yBEppRAWr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 22, 2026
“I’m grateful, I’m honored, I’m pleasured to introduce the 45th and 47th president of the United States America, President Donald J. Trump,” Dart said.
He and the president briefly interacted before the Giants quarterback exited the stage.
It was a fairly ho-hum event that likely wouldn’t have gotten much coverage outside of New York — until Carter spoke up.
Dart’s teammate took to social media, per Outkick, and in a since-deleted post shared a video of Dart introducing Trump with this caption: “Thought this s**t was AI, what we doing man.”
That remark set off a firestorm of controversy and speculation about whether or not the Giants’ locker room was fractured.
It ultimately prompted both men to address the topic on Friday, when they both spoke to reporters after a team activity.
Dart proffered a prepared statement that was uncharacteristically subdued for the normally energetic quarterback:
Jaxson Dart issues a detailed statement on his decision to introduce Donald Trump and the impact that it has had on the Giants and his teammates pic.twitter.com/HOdT0rkJdL
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) May 29, 2026
But the far more interesting remarks came from Carter, who seemed to publicly double down on his disdain for Trump:
Abdul Carter says he will only address Jaxson Dart introducing Donald Trump one time:
“Some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things.
Jaxson is one of our leaders – he’s the face of our franchise. He represents himself and what he does, and he represents… pic.twitter.com/u6ohplXL6l
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) May 29, 2026
“So first off, I want to say that some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things,” Carter, a practicing Muslim, said. “Jaxson is one of our leaders. He’s the face of our franchise. He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us. And that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform.”
“But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it’s my responsibility based on what I believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I’m against that, but to show the world.”
“That doesn’t mean that we have to spread hate. That doesn’t mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day. Every team meeting, we’re close, we talk,” he continued.
“As long as we make sure we have the same goal as a team, and our goals align — which they do — I feel like that’s all that matters.”
“I just want to move past this.”
One last wrinkle — the Giants head coach, John Harbaugh, has long appeared to have a healthy relationship with Trump.
According to ESPN, while Harbaugh wouldn’t comment on anything specifically related to Trump, he did note that his players led a team meeting where they apparently aired some thoughts following Carter’s now-deleted X post.
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