With Republicans facing competitive races in traditionally conservative territory, Donald Trump is bringing some familiar Texas football names into his campaign spotlight. The president plans to appear alongside three former NFL players. He is betting that their college football roots and sporting fame can help energize voters before the midterms.
Johnny Manziel, Colt McCoy and Danny Amendola join Donald Trump’s Texas campaign plans
The Tuesday appearances in Lubbock and Corpus Christi will feature Johnny Manziel, Colt McCoy and Danny Amendola, according to Axios. Each player built a college football career in Texas before reaching the professional ranks.
Manziel, 33, won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M before joining the Cleveland Browns. McCoy, 40, starred at the University of Texas and played for five NFL teams between 2010 and 2022. Amendola, also 40, played for Texas Tech before winning two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. Manziel and Amendola both hail from eastern Texas (via The Daily Beast).
Trump has been bringing plenty of gridiron energy to the campaign trail. His football tour has included catching the first half of the Texas-Tennessee game in Knoxville in September. He also chatted with four Baltimore Ravens players earlier this month and shared the stage with former NFL coach Jon Gruden at an Ohio rally. In Georgia, he also enlisted former Bulldogs and Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley.
And Trump isn’t shy about turning football talk into campaign banter. At an Oct. 12 event in Youngstown, he recalled sizing up Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s physique before calling the former University of Dayton football player “a great athlete.”
A Trump adviser told Axios that “Trump has many bases. And football is one of them, college and pros,” The adviser also said Trump enjoys the energy surrounding the sport.
The campaign appearances come as Texas Republicans face a potentially tight Senate contest. Polls have shown Democrat James Talarico, 37, narrowly ahead of Republican Ken Paxton, 63. A CBS poll last week put Talarico at 51% and Paxton at 49%, within the margin of error.
