Fact Check: Was Tom Brady a Donald Trump supporter? 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has addressed the media regarding his alleged friendship with former US President Donald Trump. The 44-year-old NFL star revealed that he hasn't spoken to Trump "in a lot of years."

But how many years does a lot of years mean? More importantly, was Tom Brady a Donald Trump supporter?

To answer the latter, yes. The former New England Patriots QB was, in fact, a supporter of Donald Trump a few years back, apparently, until 2017 - the year Trump was sworn in as president.

During an interview with Variety, the QB reiterated that he has known Trump since 2002. Trump invited the recently crowned Super Bowl winner to judge a Miss USA competition while he was still a part of the New England Patriots.

"In 2002, after I won my first Super Bowl, he asked me to go judge a Miss USA competition, which I thought was the coolest thing in the world because I was 24 years old and had a chance to do something like that."

The Buccaneers star even revealed that Trump frequently appeared during Patriots' games and cheered for the team.

Friendship aside, as mentioned above, the three-time MVP was also a supporter of Donald Trump, politically. In 2015, a red 'Make America Great Again' hat was spotted in his locker room at the Gillete Stadium.

When reporters asked if Trump had what it took to be the POTUS, the quarterback said:

"I hope so. That would be great. There would be a putting green on the White House lawn. I’m sure of that.”

Later that year, during a radio interview with Boston's WEEI, he admitted that Trump was a "friend" and that he always "supports all of his friends." He was quoted as saying:

"Donald is a good friend of mine. I have known him for a long time. I support all my friends. That is what I have to say. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s always been so supportive of me."

During a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump praised Brady for his legendary NFL career, calling him a "great guy" and a "great friend." The 76-year-old went on to reveal that the quarterback had voted for him in the election.

"Tom Brady, great guy, great friend of mine, great champion, unbelievable winner! He called today and he said, 'Donald, I support you, you are my friend, and I voted for you'."

Despite being vocal about his support for Trump, Brady himself never revealed who he voted for in the 2016 election. Trump, of course, won the election ahead of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and served as the POTUS from 2017 to 2021.

Tom Brady distanced himself from Trump because of difference in political views

In 2017, reports of cracks in their relationship began to gather steam. Tom Brady repeatedly evaded questions about Trump's controversial policies, one of them being the introduction of strict immigration laws in the country.

In April of that year, Tom Brady skipped a visit to the White House as part of the Super Bowl champions' traditional meeting with the President. Brady was expected to make the trip, but announced at the last minute that he'd be missing it due to "personal family matters."

Brady spoke out against Trump later that year when he broke his silence on the protests against racial injustice in the NFL, sparked by free agent QB Colin Kaepernick. Trump felt that players that knelt during the national anthem should be fired from the league.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion criticized the then-POTUS, stating:

"Yeah, I certainly disagree with what he said. I thought it was just divisive. Like I said, I just want to support my teammates.”

Tom Brady added:

“I am never one to say, ‘Oh, that is wrong. That is right'. I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me.”

In 2020, Brady opened up on how his friendship with Trump "grew uncomfortable" leading up to the 2016 election. He told Howard Stern:

"You can't undo things, not that I would undo a friendship, but political support is a lot different than the support of a friend."

Donald Trump's presidential run ended in 2021 after he lost to Joe Biden. The NFL legend took a fun jibe at his 'former friend' Trump during last year's visit to the White House with the Buccaneers.

During the customary speech, the 44-year-old took a subtle shot at Trump's unproven claim that voter fraud helped Biden win the election.

"It didn't look great there at one point, we were struggling a little bit. As the President alluded to. But we found our rhythm, we got on a roll. Not a lot of people think that we could have won. In fact, I think 40 percent of the people still don't think we won. You understand that, Mr. President!"

In a nutshell, Tom Brady went from being close friends with Donald Trump to not speaking to him for years. The quarterback's comments were a clear indication that he has distanced himself from the former President, who has become a very controversial figure over the last few years.