2024-09-13 01:40:02
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters Wednesday he will not endorse any candidate in the upcoming election. He’s focused on leading the Kansas City Chiefs to win a third straight Super Bowl, something no NFL team has ever done.
Mahomes’ mission comes during an election year in which the quarterback is surrounded by opposing political forces in his personal life.
Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, earned public praise from former President Trump during an interview with Fox News Wednesday. After Taylor Swift, the girlfriend of Mahomes’ longtime teammate and close friend, Travis Kelce, announced her endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday night, Trump said he “liked” Brittany Mahomes more than Swift anyway.
“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better if you want to know the truth. She’s a big Trump fan,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” “I like Brittany. I think Brittany’s great.”
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Patrick Mahomes was asked about the former president’s comments during a press conference Wednesday as the Chiefs prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals. He then praised his wife’s influence in allowing people to express their views freely.
“I think you see Brittany does a lot in the community,” the 28-year-old QB said. “I do a lot in the community to help bring people up and give people an opportunity to use their voice,” He said. “In political times, people are going to use stuff here and there, but I can’t let that affect how I go about my business every single day of my life and trying to live it to the best of my ability.”
“At the end of the day, it’s about me and my family and how we treat other people.”
An animated Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs in December during a game against the New England Patriots. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Brittany has been at the center of a maelstrom of online debate between fans and critics in recent weeks. It started with a simple Instagram like of Trump’s 2024 policy platform Aug. 13. Images of the like were rapidly spread around social media channels, inciting backlash so fierce the pregnant mother posted comments to defend herself and her beliefs.
She later liked a comment that said “TRUMP-VANCE 2024” on one of her Instagram posts.
Online Taylor Swift fan pages were responsible for several instances of Brittany’s like going viral. Swift has endorsed Democratic candidates dating back to 2018, when she endorsed Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections in Tennessee.
She then endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020, and her endorsement of Harris Tuesday arguably has a stronger impact. It’s her first presidential endorsement since a surge in popularity from her Eras Tour and public relationship with Kelce.
Swift’s relationship with Kelce resulted in several publicized moments between the pop star and Brittany during Chiefs games.
Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes pose for a photo while watching the U.S. Open on Sept. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Patrick, Brittany, Swift and Kelce attended the U.S. Open men’s singles final in New York Sunday. The Chiefs took care of their opening night win Thursday, leaving the group free to watch Italian Jannik Sinner defeat American Taylor Fritz in a luxury section of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Brittany and Swift were seen hugging and talking during the event.
Their U.S. Open appearance came days after Swift and Brittany sat in separate suites at Arrowhead Stadium. Brittany and Swift had a history of sitting together in suites when Swift started going to games last year after publicizing her relationship with Kelce. Seeing the two together during broadcast cutaways became a Chiefs staple during games last season, but not on opening night last week, when the Chiefs celebrated their third Super Bowl of the Mahomes-Kelce era.
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With Swift’s official endorsement of Harris, questions about whether Kelce will endorse a candidate have risen among fans and voters.
In March, Kelce told the Los Angeles Times he and Swift shared values after they started dating just a few months earlier, both at the age of 33.
“I think the values that we stand for and just, you know, who we are as people,” Kelce said when asked why he believed people were so fascinated by their relationship. “We love to shine light on others, shine light around the people that help and support us. And, on top of that, I feel like we both have just a love for life.”
Taylor Swift hugs Brittany Mahomes as Travis Kelce looks on during the U.S. Open on Sept. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Patrick and Brittany have a different love story.
Brittany and Patrick were born and raised in east Texas and started dating when they attended Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. Whitehouse is a town with a population of about 8,500 and has a history of voting Republican, according to Data USA. The couple got married in March 2022 and have two children, 3-year-old daughter Sterling Skye and 1-year-old son Patrick “Bronze” Lavon Mahomes III.
Shortly after the scrutiny began about Brittany liking Trump Instagram content, Patrick wished her a happy birthday Aug. 31.
In a recent episode of the “Whoop” podcast, Brittany said she’s leaned on her three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback husband to get her through the recent public scrutiny.
“Having him to help me get through it has helped a lot because he is very good at managing those things and blocking people out and doing all that type of stuff,” she said. “Having him beside me and kind of guiding me, coaching me through it has helped a ton. I think that’s kind of gotten to where we are at now.
“I think the main thing he always told me is like, ‘Stop caring about what people think, especially the people that don’t even know you,’” she said. “And so I think social media used to get me a lot, and now it’s just like, honestly, I don’t give a f— about what people have to say about me anymore.”
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“Contrary to the tone of the world today…. you can disagree with someone, and still love them. You can have differing views, and still be kind,” Brittany Mahomes wrote. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Brittany did suggest with an Aug. 26 Instagram story that she and Patrick may potentially disagree on some issues. “Contrary to the tone of the world today…. you can disagree with someone, and still love them. You can have differing views, and still be kind,” she wrote.
Patrick has never publicly expressed support for a political figure or affiliation. He told Time in April he would not speak about who he would vote for in the upcoming election. He stood firm on that belief Wednesday.
“I don’t want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate or do whatever, either way,” Mahomes reiterated. “I think my place is to inform people to get registered to vote. It’s to inform people to do their own research and then make the best decision for them and their family.”
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