Even though former United States president Donald Trump and the GOP planned a rally at the exact same time as Ohio State’s football game on Saturday night, Trump still took the opportunity to try to appeal to Buckeye football fans in attendance, taking credit for saving the team’s 2020 football season.
The 2020 Big Ten football season was initially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren ultimately reversed course and the conference instead played a shortened season
It worked out for Ohio State, which went undefeated during the regular season, won the Big Ten Championship, and beat Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal before ultimately falling to Alabama in the title game.
And Trump is taking credit that the season was ever played.
Trump begins his rally speech in Youngstown by trying to take credit for Ohio State football pic.twitter.com/PnmAaPtMSP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2022
“I’m thrilled to be back in the great state of Ohio where today you have a football game going on and it didn’t affect this crowd,” Trump said at the rally. “We have a great team. I don’t know if you know it or not, I’m the one that got Ohio State football for that season two years ago with that commissioner. We got it open.”
Trump’s recollection of events, however, is quite different than Warren’s. According to Sportico, Warren said he spoke to Trump twice ahead of the 2020 season. Both times Trump offered to provide the conference with the COVID-19 tests it needed to play, but Warren declined both times, and they didn’t use any assistance from Trump.
Still, Trump Tweeted that the two had a “very productive conversation” and said that the return of Big Ten football was “on the one yard line” – which wasn’t true.
Trump seems to think he played a much bigger role than he really did. Or he’s simply not telling the truth.
