President Donald Trump's Department of Justice was mocked by political analysts and observers on Thursday for its "insane" attempt to get back at a "special club" that rejected the president years ago.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's DOJ has launched an antitrust investigation into the NFL for allegedly harming consumers by allowing games to be streamed on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Trump tried several times unsuccessfully to purchase an NFL team between the 1980s and 2010s. His bid to purchase the Baltimore Colts before the team relocated to Indianapolis was rejected by the team's late owner, Jim Irsay. In 2014, banks refused to lend Trump money in his quest to purchase the Buffalo Bills, according to reports.
The investigation was revealed at a time when Trump's DOJ is facing growing criticism for acting as the president's personal defense firm. According to the report, it revolves around the Sports Broadcasting Act, which gives teams the right to collectively negotiate TV packages.
"Media companies, regulators and members of Congress have raised concerns in recent months over how difficult it is for consumers to be able to watch their favorite sports games as a result of rights deals in which leagues offer smaller packages of games to streamers," the report reads in part.
Political analysts and observers reacted to the report on social media.
"Crazy how the Trump admin suddenly cares about antitrust violations when it's related to the special club that rejected him a few decades ago," Mike Tremblay, a transit planner in Portland, Maine, posted on Bluesky.
"This is incredible, they're going after America's most popular sport? Even if they have a point (they probably do), absolute scenes to do this from a popularity perspective," George Pearkes, a macro strategist, posted on Bluesky.
"Gotta wonder how much of this is Trump trying to get back at the NFL because the NFL a) never allowed Trump to buy a team; b) had Green Day and Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl," Josh Stern, executive editor at Morning Brew, posted on Bluesky.