Donald Trump fumbled his words Monday night.
Trump appeared at First Niagara Center on the eve of Tuesday’s New York primaries, and he was introduced by none other than Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan. The Republican presidential front-runner thanked Ryan for his support upon taking the stage, only to then completely botch Ryan’s coaching résumé with the New York Jets.
“You know, he won championships in New York — AFC, I think, twice,” said Trump, who referred to Ryan as a “great coach” while addressing the crowd. “(He) always had these teams that were brutal, they were just good, great defense. I’ve been watching and I’ll tell you, you’re going to have a very, very good season this year. You watch.”
There’s some truth to Trump’s assessment that Ryan had great defenses in New York, where he coached the Jets for six seasons from 2009 through 2014. However, Ryan didn’t win any championships with the Jets. He advanced to the AFC Championship Game during the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, but that was as far as New York went on his watch. The Jets missed the playoffs in Ryan’s other four seasons.
Trump’s football flub would be worse if he didn’t also refer to 9/11 as “7-Eleven” during the same rally.
