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Jaxson Dart faced the music last week when he made a statement in response to the introduction of President Donald Trump at an event in New York.
The New York Giants quarterback was invited to introduce Trump, prompting backlash from fans, the media and even teammate Abdul Carter.
Nevertheless, Dart addressed the situation in an attempt to put it behind him, but in doing so received further backlash from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
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New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart greets President Donald Trump during a Fighting For American Workers event in Suffern, NY on May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Dart explained that he had a “unique opportunity” to introduce the president of the United States, and “the presidency has always been a position that I have respected well, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party, and you know, my intentions were just that.”
But Florio said Dart “tipped off” on “the most important question” he was asked by the press — if he realized why the decision to introduce Trump was controversial.
“That’s the only question that needed to be answered,” Florio said on Monday’s edition of “Pro Football Talk Live.” “And well, ‘I’ll refer back to my statement,’ but your statement doesn’t address that. Your statement is trying to make it apolitical. You can’t. It’s impossible to make that gesture at this moment, in this time, apolitical. Just being there and introducing the president is a political statement.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and President Donald Trump attend an event inside the Eugene Levy Fieldhouse at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, May 22, 2026. Trump spoke about his economic achievements in the upstart congressional district represented by Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for election in the midterm elections in November. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)
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“That’s where I think we have to be realistic and anyone who wants to say it’s not political is trying to advance their own agenda to excuse Dart and criticize Abdul Carter.”
Carter said on X that he thought a video of Dart and Trump was “AI,” adding, “What are we doing man?”
Dart added that he understands that politics is “a sensitive matter” and that being the team’s starting quarterback comes with responsibility. Dart and Carter hugged it out after speaking to the media about the ordeal.
“Stand up for what you believe in. But it can’t be a problem when I stand up for what I believe in. That’s all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good,” Carter said.
“I mean, we just talked,” Dart added. “You know, me and Abdul got here at the same time. We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We’ve been through adversity through a season and had to have each other’s backs, and that’s exactly what we continued to do today.”
Giants linebacker Abdul Quarter says there is no beef between him and quarterback Jaxson Dart after he appeared at an event with President Donald Trump. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images and Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Jameis Winston said he was “proud of Dart and Carter” for having this conversation and standing in front of you guys and saying what they would love.
“I’m proud of our team for understanding that we don’t have to pick sides in this,” he added.
