President Donald Trump Would Take Military Advice From Bill Belichick, Can't Pick Sides In Tom Brady Split
BOSTON (CBS) -- This week has been a fairly significant one in the world of college football, as big-time conferences around the country try their best to salvage a 2020 season despite all of the challenges and risks inherent with playing football on college campuses during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump has loudly voiced his encouragement of the season going forth, sharing a tweet from Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence as well as a hype video of sorts for college football.
With his vocal support of the college football season becoming a national storyline, the president faced a number of questions about sports in general on Tuesday.
Included in that list of questions was one about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Trump's and Belichick's friendship is well-documented, as is Belichick's deep respect and admiration for the U.S. military.
As such, Trump said that Belichick would make for a pretty wise general.
"You know, if I ever had a military battle, I'd call up Belichick and say, 'What do you think? What do you think? Give me a couple of ideas,'" Trump said with a laugh on The Hugh Hewitt Show. "He'd be as good as any general out there."
The president was asked to pick a side for the upcoming NFL season: Tom Brady or Bill Belichick?
"I think they're both going to do great. They're both friends of mine," Trump answered. "I'll tell you, Belichick is an incredible coach, and I think he's going to do really well. This guy just knows how to win. And he's a very good friend of mine. He's a winner."
Trump -- who didn't mention an absent Brady's name once when the Patriots visited the White House following their dramatic Super Bowl LI victory -- said he'll be intrigued to watch the quarterback in his first season in Tampa Bay.
"I think Tom, you know, Tom picked a team where they have a very good offensive line and supposedly great receivers. Great receivers," Trump said. "And he did that on purpose. He didn't pick a team for just the dollars. He picked a team that really supposedly has some real talent that hasn't quite gotten there in a long time. So I think Tom's going to be an interesting person to watch."
Trump actually tuning in, though, depends on whether players stand or kneel for the national anthem.
"It's going to be very interesting to watch, but I won't watch if people don't stand for the national anthem," Trump said. "If they kneel, I don't watch, including the Super Bowl. With that being said, we're helping the NFL greatly on getting going, et cetera, et cetera. But I won't care and I won't watch if they don't stand for the national anthem, and that's what's happened to basketball. I don't know if you've seen what's going on with basketball. Their ratings are terrible."