Giants linebacker Abdul Carter wasn’t at the team meeting where quarterback Jaxson Dart discussed his decision to introduce President Trump at a recent rally in New York.
Now, we understand why.
On Friday, in Carter’s first public comments since he publicly criticized Dart on social media for his support of Trump, the second-year player not only declined to strike a conciliatory tone, he actually doubled down on his criticism of Dart, saying it was his “responsibility” to take the QB to task for supporting the president.
“Some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those things,” Carter began after telling reporters he would only address the issue of Dart and Trump one time.
“Jaxson is one of our leaders – he’s the face of our franchise. He represents himself and what he does, and he represents all of us. If he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it’s my responsibility based on what I believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I’m against that, but to show the world. That doesn’t mean that we have to spread hate. That doesn’t mean that me and Jaxson hate each other or we have beef. I sit next to Jaxson every day – we’re close, we talk. As long as we make sure we have the same goal as a team, and our goals align – which they do -that’s all that matter. I just want to move past this.”
However, before moving past it, Carter added that he is not seeking an apology from Dart.
“I don’t want him to say he’s sorry. Stand on what you believe in, but it can’t be a problem if I stand on what I believe in. As long as we have that understanding, it’s all good.”
Dart appeared at a Trump rally on May 22 at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, and was unsurprisingly blasted for it on social media. What did come as a bit of a surprise was that Carter was among those criticizing his quarterback.
Carter wrote in a since-deleted tweet, “thought this sh!t was AI, what we doing man.”
Also, on Friday, Dart himself addressed the issue, citing that he has a tremendous love for America and a tremendous respect for the office of the presidency, regardless of political affiliation.
Both Dart and Carter were first-round selections of the 2025 NFL Draft.