Donald Trump ran for president to get back at NFL owners
Had Donald Trump been able to purchase the Buffalo Bills the course of history may have changed, according to Stephen A. Smith.
The ESPN personality recalled during an appearance on “Club Random with Bill Maher” when Trump had called him back in 2014 to complain about NFL owners creating problems for his bid to purchase the Bills.
At the time Trump had been one of three finalists in the bidding to buy the Bills following the death of owner Ralph Wilson.
“He called me in 2014. This is a true story,” Smith started to recall to Maher. “He says, ‘Stephen A’ — [he] had a secretary — ‘Mr. Trump is on the line,’ etcetera. [Trump] gets on the line. He says, ‘Stephen A., I’m trying to buy the Buffalo Bills.’ Price tag was $1.4 billion.”
“He had about $1.1 billion. I was being told he wasn’t gonna get the team,” Smith continued. “He said, ‘Stephen A., if these motherf–kers get in my way’ — talking about the NFL owners — “these motherf–kers get in my way, I’m gonna get them all back. I’m gonna run for president.’ That’s what he said!”
Smith went on to claim that Trump went on to “hijack” the Colin Kaepernick protest conversation “just to get the owners back.”
The Bills ended up being purchased by Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula for $1.4 billion.
Trump, who won the presidency in 2016 and 2024, discussed his bid to buy the Bills earlier this year when he appeared on “Bussin With the Boys” and said he was “not close” in closing a deal for the team.
“I don’t think it was a very serious run but I gave them a guarantee of a $1 billion so that’s always serious, right?” he said on the podcast.
At the time, he told The Buffalo News that he was “going to give it a heavy shot.”