(Editor’s note: as we head into the final hours preceding the U.S. Presidential Election, we revisit and republish some of the sports and pop culture stories we ran in 2016 relating to the electoral process)
You know, I remember when Donald Trump was running for president he said that if he was elected president of the United States, America would start winning again. Lou Holtz, Gene Keady, we had. As the critical Indiana primary approaches, Trump has added another pair of legendary Indiana coaches to his roster of endorsers, with Notre Dame’s Lou Holtz and Purdue’s Gene Keady rounding out. Donald Trump just locked down two more huge endorsements ahead of Tuesday’s Indiana primary. Former Notre Dame and Purdue men’s basketball coaches Digger Phelps and Gene Keady both introduced the Republican front-runner before a Monday campaign rally in South Bend. “Coaches know how to get things done. Gene Keady endorses Donald Trump May 2, 2016, 3:30 PM Former Purdue University men's basketball coach Gene Keady offered his endorsement to Republican Donald Trump on Monday. INDIANAPOLIS - For many Hoosiers, Donald Trump may now have received the three biggest endorsements he could get: Bobby Knight; Gene Keady and Lou Holtz. Keady, who spent 25 years as men's basketball head coach at Purdue University, joined Trump on stage Monday at a rally at The Palladium in Carmel, Indiana.
Speaking in Cleveland today, Donald Trumpcovered a litany of topics, first and foremost his much discussed and hyper analyzed Republican National Convention Acceptance speech from last night. Trump then shifted gears to his notorious feud with Texas Senator Ted Cruz before discussing his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
The Republican nominee then described why he loves the state of Indiana and this included mentioning a cadre of coaches with elite won-loss records.
The names mentioned were Bobby Knight, Digger Phelps (ok, not everybody on this list has an elite record), Lou Holtzand “Gene.”
Trump, who didn’t mention any of the schools affiliated with the coaches by name, struggled to locate the name Gene Keady in his memory bank. It was more of a “you know, Gene” or “that Gene guy” kind of, for a lack of a better phrase, shout-out.
Here’s a Tweet from the Executive sports producer at WBAL-TV, Baltimore
Gene Keady was the coach he was searching for.
Gene Keady Donald Trump Supporters
— Chris Dachille (@WBALDash) July 22, 2016
Gene Keady Donald Trump Tweet
And a Tweet from an Energy and Environment Reporter at DC Examiner.
Trump says he loves Indiana and then proceeds to name off Bobby Knight, Lou Holtz, Gene Keady and Digger Phelps as why.
Gene Keady Donald Trump Impersonator
— Kyle Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) July 22, 2016
In other words, Trump probably has no actual idea who Gene Keady really is, or what he’s accomplished in the Big Ten, but an advisor probably informed him that the court at Mackey Arena is named after somebody important and he should list that somebody important if he wants to appeal to Purdue Boilermakers everywhere.
The remarks also transparently convey his attempt to appeal to Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans as well. Trump needs to turn Indiana from slightly red to solid red in order to stand any chance in the electoral college map.
While the Gene Keady mention was just an awkward minor glitch, the Lou Holtz reference was an obvious blatant political mistake.
Holtz, who has a statue erected of him at Notre Dame Stadium, is completely toxic right now due to his bizarre and bigoted anti-immigrant rant on Tuesday at the RNC.
Why Trump would continue to associate his/the GOP brand with Holtz in the wake of the former ND’s expressed xenophobic and intolerant views is beyond the scope of reason. Alluding to Digger probably won’t register as Phelps is too obscure a figure these days.
Referencing Bobby Knight could be risky too, as Knight is notorious for his extremist and fringe worldview.
But hey, there’s a reason we draw parallels between Trump and the President in the 2006 Mike Judge film Idiocracy.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram
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