Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter addressed Dart’s decision to introduce President Donald Trump at a rally in New York last week.
Dart’s introduction sparked controversy, particularly when teammate Abdul Carter reposted a video on Twitter and wrote, “thought this s--- was AI, what we doing man.” The reaction immediately drew speculation and concern regarding how this exchange would affect the locker room, which Carter later cleared up. In a post later that day, Carter wrote, “Me & JD6 are good! We spoke earlier as men. Y’all can keep y’all narratives.”
Earlier this week, Dart addressed teammates in a meeting, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Several other leaders on the team spoke, and on Friday, both Dart and Carter shared a hug and talked to reporters about the subject publicly, with Dart sharing a statement.
Here is what Dart expressed in his statement.
“This was a unique opportunity, being asked 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 even served as secretary of treasury at one point. The President position is one I’ve loved, respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political party. My intentions were just that.
Jaxson Dart issues a detailed statement on his decision to introduce Donald Trump and the impact that it has had on the Giants and his teammates pic.twitter.com/HOdT0rkJdL
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) May 29, 2026
“I also understand in this world politics can be a sensitive matter, a sensitive topic,” Dart continued. “I also understand I am the quarterback of the New York Giants and that involves a lot of responsibility, it’s under a limelight, it’s under a microscope. There’s a lot that comes with that and it's been something that I’ve embraced. I’ve loved being here, the people that I’ve been here, it’s been an amazing experience and there is not another place that I would rather be.
“... 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’ve been somebody who’s always respected the different perspectives that people may have, the backgrounds they come from. We have such a cool opportunity as people to be in a locker room where it’s a melting pot of people from everywhere, and we get to be together. I think that the connections we build are special because we’re able to have vulnerable conversations. We’re able to learn from each other, 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, I’d like to keep those things private between me and my teammates. I love these guys and going forward I can’t for what more we have to grow.”
Carter also addressed the matter on Friday, noting that he wants to speak about it once and move on from the subject.
"Some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things,” Carter said. “Jaxson is one of our leaders, he's the face of our franchise. He represents himself and what he does, and he represents all of us, and that goes for anybody who wears a Giants uniform.”
He added, “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. That 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 have the same goal as a team, and our goals align, which they do, I feel that's all that matter.”
Abdul Carter’s first comments since Jaxson Dart introduced President Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/bOTQDBmQ4z
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) May 29, 2026
When Carter was asked if Dart apologized, he noted, “I don't want him to say he's sorry. Stand on what you believe in, but it can't be a problem if I stand on what I believe in. As long as we have that understanding, it's all good."
Along with Dart and Carter, coach John Harbaugh also addressed the matter to reporters, calling it a “good opportunity” for the football team have conversations about “a real life incident.” Harbaugh noted that they spoke on the subject first thing Tuesday and had a good meeting.
“The important thing to understand is what we are is a collection of all of us together,” Harbaugh said.
“We need to understand how we want to approach these things going forward. You don’t want to stand up there and dictate some turns as a coach. You want to find out what the players think, and how the players and coaches feel about it, and mainly the players because as I’ve told them, ‘it’s your team. ... That’s really up to you guys as a team.’ ... The players established amongst themselves how they wanted to approach these things that are part of the dialogue in our society. They did a great job, I was proud of them, impressed by them. We're in a good place now, we're moving forward.”
John Harbaugh on the situation around Jaxson Dart's introduction of Donald Trump and how it has affected the Giants:
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) May 29, 2026
"It was a good opportunity for us as a football team to have good conversations...we're in a good place now, we're moving forward" pic.twitter.com/3ddPuLdLCq
