Report: Donald Trump calls Kirk Cousins to congratulate him for Week 5 win over Giants

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
Updated ·2 min read
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President Donald Trump is a busy man.

Between a campaign to discredit an impeachment inquiry, threatening to “destroy and obliterate the Economy (sic) of Turkey” and spreading conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, he’s got a lot on his plate.

But that hasn’t distracted him from his love of sports. And he was apparently stoked about a Week 5 Minnesota Vikings win over the New York Giants — so much so that he gave it the Super Bowl treatment.

Why did Trump call Cousins?

The Vikings confirmed to CBS 4 in Minnesota that Trump called Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to congratulate him for the regular season victory over a mediocre opponent.

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Cousins had a nice game, throwing for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was a much needed confidence boost for a quarterback who’s been under intense scrutiny for underperforming his $84 million guaranteed contract.

So maybe Trump is sympathetic to a public figure who’s facing criticism both in the media and from his inner circle and managed to pull out a win.

Donald Trump gave a Week 5 win over the New York Giants the Super Bowl treatment. (Getty)
Donald Trump gave a Week 5 win over the New York Giants the Super Bowl treatment. (Getty)

Trump, Cousins have history

It wasn’t a completely random interaction. Trump and Cousins have history. The two played a round of golf together in 2017 when Cousins was still playing for the Washington Redskins.

Cousins: ‘Just a normal guy’

Cousins described Trump to Sports Illustrated after the match as “just a normal guy” and “pretty easy to talk to” while delivering the boilerplate response of any athlete who golfs with Trump that he would have golfed with “any president — far left, far right, middle.”

Trump’s call to Cousins also coincides with a “Keep America Great” Trump campaign rally scheduled in Minneapolis on Thursday. So maybe there’s some political strategy attached to the call.

The Vikings clarified that Cousins will not be attending the rally.

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