Tom Brady says he hasn’t talked with former President Trump “in a lot of years,” accusing the media of distorting the pair’s relationship.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback make the remarks in an interview with Variety published Thursday about his new movie, “80 for Brady.” The comedy is poised to be released next year.
Trump has long-professed his adulation for the star athlete, repeatedly dubbing Brady a “great friend” over the years.
Brady displayed a pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker in 2015 and has also said he was friends with Trump.
While the two have golfed together, and Brady served as a judge in Trump’s 2002 Miss USA pageant, the former New England Patriot skipped the Super Bowl-winning team’s White House visit in 2015. When Trump called for players who protest during the national anthem to be fired, Brady described the then-commander in chief’s words as “divisive.”
In the latest interview, Brady said press reports that suggested the two figures were close “mischaracterized a lot.”
“And my personality isn’t ever one to insult anybody,” he said. “I have plenty of my own flaws. I’m not here to point out anyone else’s flaws. There are things that I agree with. There are things that I don’t.”
“There are things I agree with my wife about. There are things that I don’t,” Brady said of model Gisele Bündchen. “I love her to death, but we don’t always see eye to eye.”
The 44-year-old NFL pro had previously said that Bündchen urged him to speak less about politics.
“I don’t see eye to eye with anyone. And I’m not responsible for what other people say. I’m really responsible for what I say,” Brady told Variety.
“So if people want to say things that I said or that I’m about, that’s up to them, and I’m not going to respond to all those things all the time either,” he added.
Asked whether he had ever considered a career change and make a jump into politics, Brady replied, “Probably not.”
“I don’t think anyone’s fond of politics these days,” he said.