Brett Favre sympathizes with Donald Trump over coronavirus, explains golf round with president

Updated

Last month, Brett Favre golfed with President Donald Trump.

Like other athletes who have volunteered to spend social time with Trump, Favre faced scrutiny over his decision to socialize with the president.

It turns out Favre sympathizes with Trump. At least in terms of the coronavirus.

The Hall of Fame quarterback addressed his July golf outing with Trump in an interview with USA Today published Friday. He likened the president’s decision-making process on managing the pandemic to his own as an NFL quarterback.

Brett Favre golfs
Brett Favre leaned on a tested response to why he decided to golf with President Donald Trump. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

‘Damned if you do ...’

“I told him, ‘I cannot imagine the stress you’re under with running the country day-to-day,'" Favre told USA Today. “It’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t for the president and quarantining.

“Someone’s always going to get pissed. They’ll say ‘open the economy, then the virus spreads, and why’d you do that?’ I know from scrutiny of playing quarterback in the league, it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

As of Friday, the United States laid claim to 4.9 million of the world’s 19.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 160,000 of the 717,000 global deaths attributed to the pandemic.

Why golf with Trump?

As for why he was there in the first place? Favre leaned on the fallback of almost everyone seen hitting the links with Trump. It’s about respecting the office, not acknowledging the man who occupies it.

“I would have played golf with any president because I respect the office of the United States,” Favre told USA Today. “It's an honor. If Barack Obama asked to golf with me, I would have taken the invitation.”

More from Yahoo Sports:

Advertisement