DC mayor downplays Trump's 'Redskins' demand, says 'focused' on closing $3.7B stadium deal

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is downplaying President Trump's "Redskins" demand, saying that she's "focused" on closing the $3.7 billion stadium deal for the city's football team.

The Washington Commanders football team, formerly called the Redskins, is awaiting the D.C. Council's approval of a $3.7 billion stadium deal, for which the team is contributing $2.7 billion, ESPN reported. The council is set to hold hearings on the deal on July 29-30, but a vote has not been scheduled.

The team's stadium moved from the city to its current location in Maryland in 1997.

Trump said on Sunday, "I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington."

In April, the owner of the team, Josh Harris, said the Redskins name would not come back with the new stadium.

Congress has already leased the federal land to the city for the next 99 years.

Bowser told ESPN on Monday, "This is what I believe, I've had the opportunity to speak on a couple of different occasions with the president about this site and about our team. And I can say this without equivocation: He is a Jayden Daniels fan, and he said himself, and the presser we were at, that this is probably the best site of any site he's seen for a stadium. I have to think that that's what I've heard him say, and that's what we'll stick with."

"Let me be clear, we're on the 1-yard line and it's time to get over the line," she added. "I can't even imagine having to start all over on this. There's nobody waiting in the wings with $2.7 billion. And so this stadium is a catalyst, and it will attract other investments. Any impediment to it getting done should be discouraged. When you're on the 1-yard line, you want to carry it over, right? That's all you want. No fumbles, no interceptions -- let's just get it over the line. And that's what we're focused on."

Earlier on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The president was serious. Sports is one of the many passions of this president, and he wants to see the name of that team changed."

"I think you've seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not," she added. "He's a nontraditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people and, 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 and the name change."