Tom Brady Takes Veiled Dig at Trump During White House Ceremony with President Biden

Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the White House

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady offered a subtle dig at former President Donald Trump in an appearance at the White House today, joking that his team won Super Bowl LV despite some people maintaining they didn't actually win.

"When we found our rhythm, we got on a roll. Not a lot of people think that we could have won. In fact, I think about 40% of people still don't think we won," the 43-year-old Brady, in his Christopher Cloos Pacifica sunglasses, joked in remarks delivered at the podium outside the White House.

"I understand," President Joe Biden interjected in response, drawing laughs from the crowd.

Brady and Biden's exchange was in reference to the 75-year-old Trump's continued (and false) insistence that he won the 2020 presidential election or that it was somehow rigged against him, despite the fact that he lost both the popular and electoral votes to Biden, 78. Even though Trump's attempts to prove his theory of a rigged election have all failed in courts across the country, with no evidence being found to support his claims, polls have shown a sizable percentage of Republican voters still don't believe Biden actually won.

Brady has a somewhat controversial relationship with the former president, who has previously attempted to get the athlete to show support for him publicly. In 2015, Brady was seen on camera with a Make America Great Again hat in his locker when he was a member of the Patriots. But he said he declined to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention, during which Trump was nominated.

The quarterback opened up about their friendship in a 2020 interview with Howard Stern for his SiriusXM show.

Brady recalled that when he first met Trump in 2001, Trump asked him to judge a Miss USA competition, and their friendship blossomed from there.

"He became someone who would come up to our games and stand on the sideline and would cheer for the Patriots," Brady said. "He always had a way of connecting with people and still does."

When Trump began getting involved in politics, though, Brady grew uncomfortable with the way their relationship was scrutinized.

"Then the whole political aspect came, and I think I got brought into a lot of those things because it was so polarizing around the election time," he told Stern. "It was uncomfortable for me because you can't undo things, not that I would undo a friendship, but political support is a lot different than the support of a friend."

Though invited to the White House under both Trump and former President Barack Obama to celebrate Patriots Super Bowl wins in 2015, 2017 and 2019, Brady elected to skip those visits.

Prior to Tuesday, Brady last visited the White House in 2005, when George W. Bush was president.

Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock Joe Biden welcomes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the White House

Brady led the Buccaneers to a win in Super Bowl LV in February, beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. He was named Super Bowl MVP for the fifth time in his career and Tampa Bay won its second Super Bowl championship in franchise history.

RELATED: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win Best Team at 2021 ESPY Awards: 'We're the Champs!' Rob Gronkowski Says

Tuesday's visit marked the first time the Super Bowl Champion team has visited the White House since 2017. In 2018, Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles, citing protests by players during the National Anthem.

Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock Joe Biden welcomes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the White House

Biden used the visit to honor the team for their win, and urged the athletes to get vaccinated if they haven't already been.

"And y'all who don't have a shot man — get one. Ok? Get one. Get one. Get one," Biden said.