Brett Favre Divides Sports Figures and Celebrities With Trump Endorsement

On Friday morning, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election in a tweet. Reactions from celebrities and fellow sports figures were mostly split, with some people calling Favre out and others applauding him for his endorsement.

In the tweet, Favre explained his thoughts behind voting for Trump. “My Vote is for what makes this country great, freedom of speech & religion, 2nd Amnd [sic], hard working tax paying citizens, police & military. In this election, we have freedom of choice, which all should respect,” he wrote before saying that Trump has his vote.

The endorsement should come as little surprise. During an interview earlier this month with The Washington Examiner, Favre also spoke favorably about Trump. “I think he’s done a good job for our country. Is he perfect? By no means is he perfect. Tell me someone who is perfect other than Jesus Christ, and I’ll call you a liar,” he said after speaking about playing golf with the president.

After Favre’s endorsement, a number of sports and media personalities praised him for sharing his support. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, professional poker player Mike Matusow and conservative podcaster and social media personality Graham Allen both tweeted out support for Favre. Conservative blogger Matt Rooney simply shared a GIF of the quarterback in reply.

Despite Favre receiving some support, other people made note of the sorts of reactions that other athletes and sports reporters get when they speak out or write about more political matters. Sports reporter and radio personality Adam Green sarcastically wondered if the people who say “stick to sports” are upset about him speaking about the election. Another reporter compared reactions to Favre’s endorsement to those when NBA player LeBron James speaks out against Trump.

One sports reporter remarked that he can’t imagine his own vote being swayed by what athletes say, but he did mention that he’s glad to know which athletes share his values and which do not.

Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels gave Favre the meme treatment, copying his tweet exactly, but saying instead that those are the reasons he’s voting for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Other people made fun of Favre for the way he endorsed Trump. Filmmaker Adam Best pointed to Favre speaking about “hard working tax paying citizens” as ironic, given Trump’s recent tax scandals. Comedy writer Jason O. Gilbert made light of a 2010 incident, where Favre allegedly sent a nude photo of himself to a reporter, according to Deadspin in 2010. Despite that controversy, Gilbert called the Trump endorsement “somehow the most embarrassing thing to ever come from Brett Favre’s phone.”

Newsweek reached out to Favre’s agent for comment via an email link on his website, but did not receive a response in time for publication.