The president of the United States has a lot on his plate right now, but even he couldn’t resist trying to get the inside scoop on the New England Patriots’ offseason drama.
In a New York Times article Wednesday about chief of staff John Kelly, it was revealed Donald Trump and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talked last week.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, they talked about quarterback Tom Brady, according to the Times.
From the story: “Mr. Kelly, for his part, is sanguine about how little control he has over how the president chooses to spend his time. At a breakfast event last week for Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, Mr. Kelly marveled that Mr. Trump had spent a long time the day before on the phone with Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots coach, talking about the status of Tom Brady, the star quarterback, according to two people familiar with his remarks, one of whom was present.”
It would be great to have a little more context about that conversation, which seems to have happened right around the time Brady officially declared — through his agent — that he’d be back for the 2018 season.
It’s also wild to think about the president of the United States taking time out of his busy schedule — and Belichick doing the same in the midst of draft preparation — just to chit-chat.
As we’ve seen in the past, Trump and Belichick are friendly. The Patriots coach wrote a letter to Trump on the eve of the 2016 election, lauding the eventual winner for his ability to “come out beautifully” despite what Belichick apparently called the “unbelievable, slanted and negative media.”
The president fancies himself a master negotiator; perhaps he can bring Belichick and Brady (another pal of Trump) together to end their reported rift.
H/t to Deadspin
