A day after Donald Trump threatened to hold up a deal for a new football stadium in the nation's capital if the Washington Commanders did not go back to the name Redskins, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president's comments were not a joke.

Washington’s NFL franchise used to be in the news all the time for reasons other than football. That seemed to have changed under new team ownership, but President Donald Trump’s remarks about the team name and possibly holding up a stadium deal are making waves just as training camp opens.

WASHINGTON — DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson has reached a deal with the Commanders on an amended stadium agreement which he will put before the Council in a vote within days of next week’s public hearing, sources tell WUSA9. The Commanders did not respond to a request for comment.

President Trump can't unilaterally block a stadium deal for the Washington Commanders to return to DC. But he has ways he can try to intervene.

President Trump’s call for the Commanders to readopt their Redskins nickname is dialing up a familiar play: turning the NFL into a political football by using sports, and Washington’s NFL team, as a cultural wedge issue.

President Donald Trump may be all on board for having the Washington Commanders revert their team name, but the D.C. mayor and the team's GM are paying him no mind.

Washington's NFL franchise is no stranger to controversy and name debates. Here's why the Commanders changed their name and why they can't go back.

Trump demanded that the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians revert to their old names in a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social.