During Tuesday evening’s presidential debate, President Donald Trump claimed credit for the Big Ten’s decision to start their football season later this year.
The comment came as Trump and his opponent, Democratic candidate Joe Biden, discussed how the ongoing pandemic has affected the economy, according to USA Today.
“People want their places open. They want to get back to their lives,” Trump said. “They’ll be careful, but they want their schools open. I’m the one that brought back football. By the way, I brought back Big Ten football. It was me and I’m very happy to do it. The people of Ohio are very proud of me.”
After initially postponing their 2020 football season, Big Ten officials reversed course earlier this month. The Big Ten now plans to begin their nine-game season on Oct. 23.
Trump tweeted congratulations to Big Ten officials, players and coaches because the decision to play was made. He also claims in the tweet to have played a role in the decision.
A Big Ten university president, who did not want to be identified, told NBC News that Trump had nothing to do with their decision to play football this year because of political implications.
“President Trump had nothing to do with our decision and did not impact the deliberations,” said the Big Ten President. “In fact, when his name came up, it was a negative, because no one wanted this to be political.”
Trump Twitter Responses
Predictably, many took to social media and expressed their views and opinions on the president’s statement.
Some found Trump’s comment to be humorous and tweeted a funny GIF attached to the quote.
Others expressed a genuine frustration at the president’s comments and hostile debate in general.
Trump and Biden will square off again in the second presidential debate on October 15 and once more on October 22.
H/T: USA Today
