Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins received a phone call from an unexpected person following the Vikings’ Week 5 win over the New York Giants. Following the contest, Cousins was told that the White House was looking for him.
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Cousins initially believed this was some elaborate prank by his agent, but called the phone number the White House left for him anyway. Someone picked up, and told Cousins to hold for the president. Moments later, President Donald Trump was on the phone congratulating Cousins on the team’s win.
If you think that sounds random, Cousins agrees.
More Kirk Cousins on call from Trump: "I just called him on the bus heading to the airport and I didn't know. I was just calling the White House and they said, 'Hold for the president.' It was just a 30-second call saying congratulations. ... Very out of the blue. Very random"
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) October 9, 2019
Cousins also explained his rationale behind making the call.
More Kirk Cousins on call from President Trump: "When the president calls, I don't care who it is, left, right, whatever, down the middle. And if he says call me, I'm going to give him a call and see what he wants.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) October 9, 2019
Trump and Cousins have a history. The two golfed together in 2017, when Cousins still played in Washington. When asked about his decision to golf with the president in 2017, Cousins used a similar “left, right, whatever” line. Cousins also called Trump “friendly” and “easy to talk to.”
While Cousins and Trump have a prior relationship, that doesn’t explain why Trump wanted to congratulate Cousins after a regular-season win. That type of thing is usually reserved for players who win the Super Bowl.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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