The Cleveland Guardians made a franchise-changing decision prior to the 2022 MLB season by changing their name from the Indians to the Guardians after 106 years of being known as the Indians.
They followed suit after the NFL’s Washington Commanders changed their name as well after decades of playing under their previous name, and while moves like this surely upset some fans who value tradition and history, the vast majority of fans understand the nature behind the name changes and eventually come around to it.
However, President Donald Trump has other ideas, and recently urged both the Guardians and Commanders to change their names back.
“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!” Trump posted on social media.
President Donald Trump says the Cleveland Guardians should return to the Indians, claiming “massive” support from Native Americans: pic.twitter.com/LrmkqHvc48
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) July 20, 2025
As sports fans, team names are incredibly important, but you never want to have a team name that can be misconstrued as being offensive or uninclusive of all fans.
As important as the name of Cleveland’s baseball team is, in the grand scheme of things, on a global and political scale, it should not be an issue the White House is involved in.
If the Guardians feel the need to rally more fan support around the name and rebrand, there have been more complaints about the plain logo and uninspiring branding changes that came along with the name change, perhaps more so than the name change itself.
That could be an avenue to get more support behind the team from a name and brand perspective, but going back to being the Indians is certainly not on the table and will likely never happen.
NEXT: Guardians Prospect Continues Hot Hitting In Minor Leagues
