Robert Saleh has revealed how honored he felt after answering the call of former President, Donald Trump.
Following the New York Jets’ thrilling 31-30 win over Cleveland in Week 2 of the NFL season, Saleh found his phone ringing with the 45th President on the other line.
‘Love him or hate him — and I’m not a politician, I’m a football coach — to get a call from a current or former president is pretty cool,’ Saleh said on ESPN Radio New York’s, The Michael Kay Show.
Naturally, Saleh did not have the former President’s number on-hand, and expected the call was from his team’s owner, Woody Johnson, who was in attendance at Trump’s North Carolina rally last Friday.
‘I thought it was Mr. Johnson, so I picked it up,’ he added. ‘It was pretty cool, that’s something you expect ever to be honest with you.
‘It was surprising and if you would have told 20-year-old me that one day I would get a call from a president of the United States congratulating us on a win as an NFL head coach, I’d have told you to get the hell out of my face, man. You gotta be lying. So, it’s pretty surreal.’
Jets head coach Robert Saleh has revealed how honored he felt after answering the call of former President, Donald Trump
Following the New York Jets’ thrilling 31-30 win over Cleveland in Week 2 of the NFL season, the 45th President of the United States phoned the New York Jets head coach
On stage for a Save America rally ahead of the midterm elections, in Wilmington last Friday, Trump discussed all things immigration, crime, the 2020 election – and, strangely, the Jets.
‘The Jets game last week,… so there’s like a minute and 37 seconds left, they’re down by 13 points and they were having a tough game, and they don’t even have the ball,’ Trump began, with onlookers blankly awaiting the relevancy of New York’s Week 2 win.
‘I think the chances of them winning was one one-hundredth of one per cent, and nobody would take the bet.
‘They got some kind of fumble, they threw a long pass it was caught, they got to seven… and then they got an onside kick, this took place over like about a minute and a quarter.
Trump had also praised Saleh and the Jets during a rally ahead of the midterm elections
‘They received… they got an onside kick, and they went for a touchdown and they won the game, because the other field goal kicker missed a field goal somewhere during the game, and they got the 14 points they needed.
‘They needed 14 points, they got 14 points like in a minute and 12 seconds, it was the craziest thing.’
What perhaps is more extraordinary than the comeback itself, was that Trump in fact spoke with Saleh and general manager, Joe Douglas following Gang Green’s first win of the 2022 NFL season.
As ever, Trump made a bold statement, although this time it was within the sports sphere.
New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, a longtime friend and supporter of Trump, was at the rally in Wilmington. While in office, Trump appointed Johnson as the US ambassador to the UK
‘I called the coach because I think the coach is a great guy, the general manager too… I said: “Coach, you’re greater than Vince Lombardi, because Vince Lombardi never did that, he was never able to pull out a game like that, because that was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” The game was done, it was over.’
When asked about the comparison on Monday, Saleh understandably refuted the claims – for the time being anyway.
‘Got a long way to go for that, bud,’ Saleh said . ‘But you know what…I think he’s a man who lives in faith, so I appreciate his faith. Hopefully we can cash in on that one day.’
Before Lombardi comparisons can come to the fore, New York will need to get back in the win column vs. Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Vince Lombardi (R) is considered of the greatest figures in National Football League history
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to run for Presidency ahead of 2024, he has not confirmed as much, but has strongly insinuated he will.
The former president said ‘the time is coming’, when Fox News asked when Republicans could expect a formal announcement, last month.
‘I think people are going to be very happy, our country has never been in a position like this, we’ve lost everything,’ he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Trump could be allowed to return to Facebook in time for the 2024 election season,’ Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg revealed last Thursday.
‘He could be. We’ve been very open that that temporary suspension is a two-year period though ’til early January of next year,’ Clegg said in an interview Thursday in Washington, D.C. with Semafor’s Editor at Large Steve Clemons.
The former President held a rally in Wilmington, NC. on Friday ahead of the midterm elections
If lifted, Trump would be allowed back on the social media website on January 7, 2023.
Trump, who amassed 35 million followers on Facebook, was banned from the platform in 2021 after making comments that allegedly incited the January 6 Capitol riot.
At the time, the Silicon Valley giant said Trump would only be allowed back on the site if ‘the risk to public safety has receded.’
He was also kicked off Instagram and Twitter that January, in response to the storming of the Capitol.
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