One lightning rod hasn’t endorsed another lightning rod because the second told the first one not to.
That’s according to Donald Trump, who said Monday that he instructed New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady not to throw his support behind him. Naturally, Trump said he was concerned for the consequences to Brady’s business dealings. From Boston radio station WEEI:
Trump added, “I think he would [endorse] if I asked him.”
He and Brady have publicly documented their friendship and mutual admiration. “He’s a good friend and we’ve had a lot of time on the golf course together over the years,” Brady said of Trump last year, after the latter had declared himself a presidential candidate. “I mean, it’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish as an entrepreneur — a television star, and now running for political office. People who can do those types of things and transition into different arenas still have that type of appeal and carryover; he’s obviously appealing to a lot of people. He’s a helluva lot of fun to play golf with.”
Not according to this story from THE WEEKLY STANDARD’s Matt Labash.
A survey from Public Policy Polling prior to the Super Bowl found that Brady is both the most and least popular quarterback in the NFL.
Accordingly, polls of the Republican primary have found Trump leading all across the country despite being the most disliked major party candidate since 1992. His ability to draw such support even with low likability ratings has confounded pollsters.
“It makes you scratch your head,” Des Moines Register pollster J. Ann Selzer told John McCormack.
Not if you’re Tom Brady, perhaps.
