Trump Defends Sanders After Snub: ‘What Is Wrong With NFL Owners?’

One of the most surprising snubs of the first round of the NFL Draft has found a new critic in President Donald Trump.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social in support of Shedeur Sanders, who went undrafted Thursday night despite drawing interest from several teams. Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, played for his father at Colorado, and his Buffaloes teammate Travis Hunter went No. 2 overall to the Jaguars.

“What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” Trump posted shortly before the second round began Friday. “Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness. He should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!”

Based on the timing of his social media posts, the president either sent the message from the skies or fired it off shortly after he arrived in Italy for the funeral of Pope Francis. He posted about Sanders shortly before sharing two messages that he landed in Italy, along with a video stepping off the plane.

All of these posts came just hours before ESPN began its second- and third-round coverage of the draft. Reports before the draft began suggested it was unclear when Sanders might be picked, and it could be as late as the third round.

While he was still coaching at Jackson State, Deion Sanders wrote a letter to the Trump White House in support of pardoning rapper Lil Wayne. The younger Sanders brother, Shilo, made comments about Trump earlier this year when talking about internet critics. “If you just hate me, or you want to hate me…paint me in a bad picture, they do that to our president, they do that to everybody.”