President Donald Trump knows more about sports ‘than just about any human being not in the business,’ his son and namesake wrote on X last month.
But faced with a Pro Football Hall of Famer in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on Friday, the elder Trump couldn’t help but admit he was at a loss.
‘Look at this guy over here,’ Trump said while seated alongside Cleveland Browns legend and former Wisconsin Badgers left tackle Joe Thomas. ‘I don’t know who he is, but he is one hell of a specimen.’
Thomas responded by saying ‘I appreciate that’ before graciously shaking the President’s hand.
Reading off a prepared dossier during the agricultural roundtable discussion, Trump informed the crowd about Thomas, a Wisconsin native who now owns a farm in the southwest part of the state.
‘I thought I was big until I met you, Joe,’ Trump said, adding: ‘Look at the size of this guy! Boy oh boy. So you’re a Hall of Fame… Did anybody get by you? … He’s a good-looking man.’
Trump praised Joe Thomas for his build and also called him a ‘good-looking man’ on Friday
Thomas , 41, is a Wisconsin native who now owns a farm in the southwest part of the state
Thomas actually looks much different than he did during his playing days, when he served as a 312-pound wall protecting the blind side of a rotating depth chart of Browns quarterbacks
Trump then added: ‘Great career, Joe, I know who you are.’
The 41-year-old Thomas actually looks much different than he did during his playing days, when he served as a 312-pound wall protecting the blind side of a rotating depth chart of Browns quarterbacks. The Brookfield, Wisconsin native has slimmed down to somewhere between 250 and 270 pounds since retiring in 2018.
The Daily Mail has sought comment from the White House about Trump’s exchange with Thomas.
Thomas did not take any offense. After Friday’s he event, he took to X to say it ‘was great meeting’ Trump to have the ‘opportunity to highlight some of the major issues that need addressing for family farmers and BEEF producers in this country!’
Trump was appearing in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, where Republican congressman Derrick Van Orden is desperately trying hold on to the hotly contested seat. Currently 2024 challenger Rebecca Cooke and former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge are considered the top candidates in the Democratic primary for the district.