Trump riffs on Indiana QB’s White House no-show, insists top draft pick is still a 'big fan'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Trump spent part of Indiana University’s White House championship celebration Monday joking about star quarterback Fernando Mendoza skipping the trip to Washington. He repeatedly insisted the new Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller is still firmly in his corner.

Mendoza, who went first overall in the NFL Draft to the Raiders, did not join his former Hoosiers teammates for the event because of preseason obligations with the team in Henderson, Nevada.

Still, Trump made sure the quarterback’s absence became one of the running themes of the ceremony.

“This season was also historic because of starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza,” Trump said during remarks honoring the national champions. “Now, the reason he's not here, he was so nice, he called because he is actually, JD [Vance], he's a big fan of ours. You wouldn't believe it because he didn't show up. I'm not happy, but that's okay.”

Trump then explained that Mendoza was attending spring training with the Raiders and said he personally encouraged the rookie to stay with the team. “The reason he didn't is because he's at spring training. And I actually said, ‘Let him! He's got to win.' And I think he's going to win pretty early coach, right? You think pretty good?” Trump asked.

Standing beside the president, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti responded, “Time will tell."

Trump keeps circling back to Mendoza’s absence

The President returned to the topic several times during the speech, praising Mendoza’s college season with a few playful digs about the quarterback missing the celebration.

“He's going to be a good one,” Trump said. “A lot of people said they're going to win, but I think he will. No, he's been great. And he's at spring training like his first day or something. I said, you better go there.”

Trump then joked that things might have gone differently had Mendoza skipped the event for political reasons.

“But if he was not here for other reasons, like he didn't like Trump or he didn't want to come, I wouldn't even mention him,” the President said. “I'd go through the whole [thing], I'd talk about how great [it is]. I wouldn't even mention the quarterback's name, but he's a great guy actually. And he is actually a big fan of what we're doing for our country."

Trump also rattled off Mendoza’s stat line from the championship season while adding a little improvisation of his own.

“But he became Indiana's first ever Heisman Trophy winner, right coach? And Fernando completed 226 of 316 passes. That's good. Throwing for 2,980 yards. Let's round it off for 3,000. Okay. I'm going to round that off a little bit, coach. 3,000 yards and a nation-leading 33 touchdowns," he remarked.

The President added, “Fernando couldn't be here today because as I said, he's now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. And let's see how good a team they have. And I think he's going to do great. He's a winner.”

Raiders duties came first

The Raiders later confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Mendoza was at the team facility Monday as part of preseason preparations.

The quarterback had already explained last week why attending the White House ceremony was unlikely.

“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here,” Mendoza told reporters. “I’ve got to prove myself. I can’t miss practice. I don’t know anything official. I don’t have the calendar, but I just wouldn’t. As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look, and I want to try to best serve my teammates. And I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”

According to The Athletic, multiple Indiana players reportedly missed the White House trip because of NFL commitments.

Indiana sent a program-record eight players to the league this year, with Mendoza among four members of the championship squad now on the Raiders roster.

Trump previously met Mendoza at January’s national title game, where the quarterback helped lead the previously undefeated Hoosiers to the first national championship in school history. 

Trump received a thunderous reception at that game.

Now, Raiders fans are hoping Mendoza can recreate some of the magic from Indiana’s 27-21 title win for a franchise still chasing its first Super Bowl appearance since 2003.