Last week, Giants LB Abdul Carter and the team’s franchise quarterback, Jaxson Dart, had an issue after Dart introduced President Donald Trump at a rally in New York.
When Carter saw Dart introducing Trump on social media, he reacted with the following on X:
“Thought this s–t was AI, what we doing man,” Carter said.
On Friday, Carter, who attended the team’s voluntary minicamp with Dart and was part of the 2025 rookie class alongside the quarterback, spoke to the media after practice about the issue.
“Yeah, I’m just going to address this one time because we all want to move past this and get over this, like everybody do,” he said. “First off, I’m going to say that some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things. Jaxson is one of our leaders. He’s the face of our franchise. He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us, and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform.
“But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it’s my responsibility, based on what I believe and what I stand on, to not only show my teammates that I’m against that, but to show the world.
“That doesn’t mean that we have to spread hate. It doesn’t mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day, every team meeting. We’re close. We talk. As long as we make sure we’ve got the same goal as a team and our goals align, which they do, I feel like that’s all that matters.
“I just want to move past this, and yeah, that’s it. I’ll take any questions about anything else, but in terms of this, I just want to move past this.”
Ultimately, according to Carter, they spoke and moved on.
“I know Jaxson is a good dude,” he said. “Like I said, I was drafted with this guy. I’ve known him for almost two years now, so I know what he represents, and I know that our goals align as a team. Just because we have a disagreement on something doesn’t mean that there is something more than that. It’s just a disagreement, and we can talk about it as men, which we did, and move forward from it. That’s my last time answering that.”
Carter was asked if Dart apologized, and he responded with this.
“No, I don’t want him to say he’s sorry,” Carter said. “Stand on what you believe in. But it can’t be a problem when I stand on what I believe in. That’s all that matters to me. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good.”
Dart also addressed the media, sharing his side of the story.
“Appreciate you all being here,” Dart said. “I understand that there’s probably going to be questions that involve off-the-field topics, and for that, I have a statement, and I hope I can answer as many of those questions that you all may have.
“I ask that we can talk about football after that, and I hope that we can understand and respect that from each other.
“Obviously, this was a unique opportunity, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President of the United States. My thinking was pretty simple in the fact of I’ve always loved this country. I have extended family members who have fought in wars. I have two uncles who have retired from the Air Force Academy and served themselves. I even have a great-grandfather who served as the Secretary of the Treasury at some point.
“The President position has always been a position that I’ve respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party. My intentions were just that.
“I also understand in this world, politics can be a sensitive matter, a sensitive topic. I also understand that I am the quarterback of the New York Giants, and that involves a lot of responsibility. I’m under a microscope, and there’s a lot that comes with it, and it’s something that I’ve embraced.
“I’ve loved being here. I love the city of New York. I love the state of New Jersey and the people that I’ve met here. It’s just been a really amazing experience, and there’s not another place that I’d rather be.
“Most importantly, the people in this organization, my teammates, the staff, coaches, everybody that has a hand, José (Garcia), you name it, I’ve loved making relationships with them and growing connections. That’s the kind of person that I am. I’m a connector. I love making relationships with people. I love hearing everybody’s stories and being somebody who people can rely on to be there for them.
“Most importantly, I can honestly say that I love every single one of my brothers, my teammates on this team, regardless of politics, regardless of religious beliefs, regardless of anything that may be different between us. I love them, and they know exactly what kind of person that I am who comes into the facility every day and who lays — I’ll lay my body on the line for my guys each and every week. It’s from the connections that we’ve built, the love that we have for each other.
“I’ve been somebody who’s always respected the different perspectives that people may have, the backgrounds they come from. I understand that we have such a cool opportunity as people to be in the locker room, where it’s a melting pot of people from everywhere, and we get to be together.
“I think that the connections that we build are special because we’re able to have vulnerable conversations. We’re able to learn from each other, to support each other, irrespective of the color of our skin. We have a real brotherhood.
“We’ve had a lot of honest conversations with each other as a team, and I’d like to keep those things private between me and my teammates and just everything that’s been said, but I love these guys, and going forward, I can’t wait for what more we have to grow, you know, the culture of this team, our brotherhood.
“Obviously, we understand the biggest goal is to be the best team that we can be, to put ourselves in a best position to succeed, to chase a championship, to be the best players for Coach Harbs and all the coaches here. That’s our focus going forward, each and every day.
“I can’t wait to continue to do that. Appreciate you, guys.”
Dart, like Carter, said the two players had spoken and had moved on.
“Yeah, we just talked,” he said. “Me and Abdul came here at the same time. We shared a lot of very similar experiences. We experienced adversity through a season and had to have each other’s backs, and that’s exactly what we continue to do today. Me and him are one of the closer guys on the team with each other. We’ve had a lot of conversation and he’s my brother. I know that I’m a brother to him.
At the end of the day, we want to be the best people and players for each other.”
Who’s right??
Both players are right. Dart is entitled to like Trump, and Carter is entitled to dislike Trump. That’s it. This is America. It’s okay to agree to disagree.
At the end of the day, Dart and Carter have a job to do, which is to win football games.
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