Trump Calls QB Kirk Cousins To Congratulate Him On Vikings Win
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A lot of Minnesotans wanted to clap Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins on the back Sunday.
As, it turns out, did President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for the team confirmed that Trump phoned Cousins to "briefly congratulate him and the Vikings on the win in New York." The call came following Sunday's 28-10 victory against the New York Giants.
Cousins completed 22 of 27 for a season-high 306 yards and had touchdown passes of 15 and 9 yards to receiver Adam Thielen. It came after a contentious week for the quarterback, in which he publicly apologized to Thielen for missing throws and his other receiver, Stefon Diggs, was fined for missing two days of meetings and practice.
Trump is planning a visit to Minnesota later this week, for a "Keep America Great" rally scheduled to take place at Target Center in Minneapolis Thursday evening.
According to a source, the two briefly discussed the rally, but Cousins will not be attending. The team said the focus of the call was not the rally.
In 2017, Cousins disclosed he had played a round of golf with Trump, which happened as the NFL was embroiled in controversy over players kneeling during the National Anthem, a display of protest Trump spoke out against. Cousins told USA Today, "I've tried to listen and learn, and at the same time support my country that I love."
A pair of Facebook events planning protests against Trump's visit have seen RSVP tallies of 24,200 and 17,900, respectively.