President Donald Trump used an appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show to renew a familiar demand: bring back the Cleveland Indians name. Speaking on the Salem radio talk show, Trump said the Guardians have “an absolute right to do it,” reviving a years-long campaign to undo the franchise’s 2021 rebrand.
Trump once again called for the Cleveland Guardians to go back to being the Indians, according to The Comeback. On the show, Trump pressed Hewitt directly on the subject, asking, “Wouldn’t you like to see the name changed to, you’re talking about the Indians, right?” according to The Hugh Hewitt Show. Hewitt, for his part, said he doesn’t much care what the team is called so long as it finally wins a World Series — something Cleveland hasn’t done since 1948, per the same account.
The team isn’t budging. Guardians leadership has said it has no plans to go back to the old moniker, the outlet’s report notes. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti addressed the pressure in remarks to reporters, according to CBS Sports, saying, “we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future.”
A Rebrand Years in the Making
The franchise officially rebranded as the Guardians in 2021, ending a run with the Indians name that stretched back to 1915, according to CBS Sports. Cleveland had announced the switch in July 2021, with the club saying it would transition away from the Indians name entirely, as reported by Cleveland.com. The process behind the new name was extensive: the club considered nearly 1,200 potential names, conducted 140 hours of interviews, and surveyed 40,000 fans before settling on Guardians.
Trump has objected to the change almost from the start. He criticized the franchise’s planned name switch back in December 2020, posting at the time, “This is not good news, even for ‘Indians.’ Cancel culture at work!” according to USA Today. The Guardians are owned by the Dolan family, with Paul Dolan serving as CEO and controlling owner, per the dossier’s sourcing from The Comeback.
Trump Ties the Name to a Failed Senate Bid
Trump’s commentary has also taken aim at a specific member of the Dolan family. He has criticized Matt Dolan over the Guardians name change and has blamed the rebrand for Dolan’s failed Senate runs, according to the reporting behind this story. Matt Dolan, who served in both the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives, lost Republican primaries for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat in both 2022 and 2024.
A Broader Pattern With Washington, Too
This isn’t the first time Trump has pushed professional sports franchises to revert to older, retired names. In July 2025, he called for both Cleveland’s baseball club and Washington’s football team to return to their former nicknames, as reported by Cleveland.com. At the time, Trump wrote that “The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” according to The New York Times.
The Commanders dropped the Redskins name in 2020 amid pressure from corporate sponsors and after lobbying by Native American groups, the Times reported. Washington spent two seasons as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022, according to Cleveland.com.
For now, the Guardians’ stance remains unchanged even as the president keeps raising the issue on national radio. Antonetti’s statement to CBS Sports suggests the organization sees its four years under the new name as a foundation to build on rather than a mistake to undo — leaving Trump’s renewed push, for the moment, unanswered where it matters most: inside the Guardians’ front office.
