Do Americans want to change Washington Commanders’ name, as Trump said? Polls show evolving opinion

Since 2020, Washington, D.C.’s professional football team has had three different names. If President Donald Trump gets his way, it will be as if the franchise’s lengthy rebranding effort never happened at all. 

In a pair of July 20 Truth Social posts, Trump urged the Washington Commanders’ owners to change back the NFL team’s name to the Washington Redskins, which some Native Americans described as a "derogatory racial epithet" when urging the team to change the name as far back as 1972. The team retired that name in 2020.

"The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team," Trump wrote. "There is a big clamoring for this." 

He said "massive numbers" of Native Americans want the name switched back. 

In a subsequent post, Trump threatened to block the Commanders’ potential stadium deal unless they reverted to the old name. (Trump couldn’t unilaterally kill the stadium deal, The Washington Post reported.) 

Trump has long disapproved of the name change.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters July 21, "If you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country, and even in this city, people actually do support the president’s position on this." 

The Commanders name wasn’t immediately celebrated when it was changed, but recent polling doesn’t show that people want the name switched back. 

After the name change was announced, polls showed nearly half of all D.C. or D.C.-area residents reported negative views of the "Commanders" name. A plurality of people polled — 43% — said they’d choose to keep The Washington Football Team as the name, rather than revert back to the initial name, according to a 2022 poll.

This year, following the team’s winning 2024 season, D.C.-area residents embraced the new Commanders brand, polling shows.

Here are six polls that show how opinion about the team’s name has evolved. 

2016: Washington Post poll finds 90% of Native Americans weren’t offended by the  team name

From December 2015 to April 2016, The Washington Post polled 504 Native American adults across 50 states and the District of Columbia. Pollsters asked whether respondents found the Washington Redskins name offensive, or if it didn’t bother them. 

Ninety percent of Native Americans surveyed said the name did not bother them. Nine percent said it was offensive and another 1% reported no opinion. 

2019: Online survey finds majority support for existing team name

In 2019, a year before the team retired its name, Wolvereye, a marketing research firm, and Gazelle Global Research Services surveyed 500 Native American people.

That web survey found that 68% weren’t offended by the name Redskins and the same percentage favored keeping the team name.

An Oct. 24, 2019 file photo shows Native American leaders protesting against the Redskins team name and logo outside U.S. Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the then-Washington Redskins in Minneapolis. (AP)

2019: Different survey finds nearly half of Native Americans find the existing name offensive

Researchers at the University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley, published findings from a 2019 survey of 1,019 Native Americans from all 50 states and representing 148 tribes. 

The survey asked respondents to share their thoughts about the team name and the term Redskins by ranking statements on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree. The study found that "overall, Natives opposed the Redskins team name in particular."

For comparison, the researchers grouped their respondents’ perceptions of the Redskins team name into roughly the same categories as the Washington Post’s 2016 poll. The study said 49% of Native Americans surveyed found the team name offensive, 38% did not find it offensive and 13% were indifferent.  

2022: D.C. residents reported largely negative views about the new Commanders’ name

In July 2020, after the team retired the Redskins name, it played as the "Washington Football Team," and there was limited polling about its name. 

The team’s February 2022 unveiling of its new Commanders name prompted more polls, mostly assessing fans’ opinions of the change, unlike past polls that had sought Native Americans’ perceptions of the former name. 

Immediately following the announcement, The Washington Post polled 904 adult D.C. residents and asked about the new name; 49% reported negative views — 17% hated it and 32% disliked it. Forty-one percent reported positive views; 36% liked it and 5% loved it. The remaining 11% reported no opinion. (The total exceeds 100% because of rounding.)

When asked which of the team’s recent monikers people preferred, 43% selected The Washington Football Team; 26% chose the Commanders; 22% picked the Redskins; and 10% wanted another name or had no opinion. 

2024: Not much changed in two years, per D.C.-area resident polling 

In April 2024, a Washington Post-Schar School poll of 1,683 adult D.C.-area residents found that 49% hated or disliked the Commanders name while 34% liked or loved it. Seventeen percent reported no opinion or skipped the question. 

The survey also asked D.C.-area sports fans to select their preferred name for the team: 19% picked Commanders, 16% picked Washington Football Team, 16% picked the Redskins and 16% picked another name while the remaining people expressed no opinion or skipped the question. 

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates after an NFL football Wild Card playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jan. 12 in Tampa, Fla. (AP)

2025: Fans warmed to the name following the Commanders’ impressive season

After a 12-5 regular 2024 season and the team’s advance to the conference championship game, the Commanders’ name experienced a popularity boost. 

In April 2025, a Washington Post-Schar School poll of 1,667 D.C.-area residents found that 50% liked or loved "Commanders." Thirty-six percent said they disliked or hated the name and 15% expressed no opinion or skipped the question. 

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.