Trump lashes out at NFL’s ‘ridiculous’ new kickoff rule while waiting for CBS interview to air

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump lost his cool while waiting for his '60 Minutes' interview segment on CBS to air on Sunday, November 2.

The reason behind his outburst was the NFL’s new kickoff rule changes, which he said stripped the game of its “glamour” and called “ridiculous.” The '60 Minutes' segment marked Trump’s first appearance since settling a lawsuit with CBS over the program’s interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump rants as he gets ready to watch himself on '60 Minutes'

Donald Trump conversed with '60 Minutes' correspondent Norah O’Donnell on Friday for an exclusive interview that aired on Sunday at 7.30 pm ET. He shared two Truth Social posts while waiting for the interview to go live. 

In the first post, he wrote, “I will be interviewed on 60 Minutes right after the Kansas City / Buffalo NFL Football Game. Hopefully they will treat me as well as they did Kamala. Enjoy!”

Sometime later, he shared a second post in all caps. “I HATE WATCHING THE NFL’S NEW KICK OFF RULE. IT’S RIDICULOUS, TAKES THE PAGEANTRY AND GLAMOUR AWAY FROM THE GAME, AND DOES NOTHING FOR SAFETY,” he wrote.

“THEY SHOULD CHANGE BACK WHAT IT USED TO BE. HOPEFULLY COLLEGE FOOTBALL WILL NEVER MAKE THIS RIDICULOUS CHANGE! IN THE MEANTIME, I’M GETTING READY TO WATCH PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP (ME!) ON 60 MINUTES," he concluded.

Trump’s rant referred to the NFL’s modified kickoff rule, which was introduced last year and updated again before the current season. The league said the changes were aimed at increasing kickoff returns while reducing dangerous on-field collisions.

This isn’t the first time the president has aimed at the NFL. He previously criticized the league for choosing Puerto Rican rapper-singer Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer, calling the decision “absolutely ridiculous.”

Trump previously filed a lawsuit against CBS News, claiming the '60 Minutes' interview with Harris in October 2024 was edited in a misleading way to benefit her. The case was settled earlier this year after CBS agreed to pay him $16 million.

 NFL’s new 'dynamic kickoff' rule

The president’s rant focuses on the NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff” rule, a format introduced last year to make games more exciting while keeping players safer. The league changed the kickoff rules several times in 2011, 2016, and 2018 to cut down on dangerous, high-speed hits.

While those changes reduced injuries, they also led to more touchbacks and fewer kick returns, which many fans disliked. Some even suggested removing kickoffs completely. Instead, the NFL decided to test a new version of the play in 2024. After a successful trial, the league made the format permanent this season.

Under the new rule, the kicker still kicks from his own 35-yard line, but the other players on the kicking team now line up at the opposing 40-yard line. They must stay still until the return team catches the ball. This prevents them from getting a running start and lowers the chance of violent collisions during returns.