Former MSNBC host Joy Reid, known for her outspoken political commentary, announced on May 31 that she has officially stopped cheering for the New York Giants. Her decision stems from a recent incident involving the team\u2019s rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who introduced President Donald Trump at a rally in upstate New York and used the word \u201cpleasured\u201d to describe his meeting with the former president. Reid called Dart an \u201cidiot\u201d and said his remarks made her feel \u201crepulsed\u201d as a longtime Giants supporter.<\/p>\n
Joy Reid rose to national prominence as a political analyst on MSNBC before launching her own primetime show, Joy Reid Tonight<\/em>. Over the past two decades she has built a reputation for blending hard\u2011news analysis with personal storytelling, often speaking candidly about the intersection of sports, politics, and culture. Her fan status with the Giants dates back to her childhood in New York, where she grew up watching the team\u2019s games on television and attending a few home matches in the early 2000s. Because Reid\u2019s platform reaches millions of viewers, her public statements about sports teams can influence both fans and the broader conversation about athletes\u2019 political engagement.<\/p>\n Jaxson Dart, a 23\u2011year\u2011old quarterback drafted by the Giants in the 2024 NFL Draft, made headlines last month when he appeared at a rally for President Donald Trump at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. During the event, Dart introduced the former president and said he was \u201cpleasured\u201d to meet him. The phrasing sparked immediate backlash on social media, with critics accusing Dart of using a clumsy turn of phrase and praising a polarizing political figure.<\/p>\n Trump, now 79, responded to the criticism by defending Dart\u2019s right to express his enthusiasm, calling the backlash \u201cunfair\u201d and urging supporters to focus on the message rather than the wording. The exchange placed Dart at the center of a growing debate about how much political expression is appropriate for professional athletes, especially those just beginning their careers.<\/p>\n During her interview on the talk show On Sunday with Jack Cocchiarella<\/em>, Reid did not mince words. She said, \u201cI have to say, as somebody who grew up as a Giants fan, I was repulsed by Jaxson Dart.\u201d She then dissected his choice of words, asking, \u201cFirst of all, he didn\u2019t say he was happy, he said he was \u2018pleasured\u2019 to meet the president. What does that even mean? Is English your first language? What are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n Reid continued, \u201cI was repulsed as a Giants fan. Well, former now.\u201d She added that Dart\u2019s support of Trump reinforced her belief that the former president is \u201cnot a normal president,\u201d and that Dart\u2019s comments were not about praising the office of the presidency but rather about endorsing a specific individual.<\/p>\n The Giants have a diverse fan base that spans the political spectrum. When a player publicly aligns with a controversial figure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former MSNBC host Joy Reid, known for her outspoken political commentary, announced on May 31 that she has officially stopped cheering for the New York Giants. Her decision stems from a recent incident involving the team\u2019s rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who introduced President Donald Trump at a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/influencerswiki.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Jaxson Dart\u2019s Controversial Rally Appearance<\/h2>\n
Reid\u2019s Reaction on \u201cOn Sunday with Jack Cocchiarella\u201d<\/h2>\n
Why the Incident Resonates With Fans<\/h2>\n