Tom Brady raved about his friendship with Donald Trump in a Tuesday radio interview but the New England Patriots quarterback stopped short of issuing an official endorsement for the Republican presidential front-runner.
On Boston WEEI-FM's "The Dennis & Callahan with Minihane Morning Show," Brady was asked whether he supports Trump's bid for president, but did a good job of dancing around a definite answer.
"Donald is a good friend of mine," Brady said. "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 — for the last 15 years, since I judged a beauty pageant for him, which was one of the very first things that I did that thought was really cool. That came along with winning the Super Bowl. He's always invited me to play golf. I've always enjoyed his company."
"I support all my friends in everything they do. I think it's pretty remarkable what he's achieved in his life. You're going from business, kind of an incredible business man and then a TV star, and then getting into politics. It's a pretty different career path. I think that is pretty remarkable," he continued.
When asked if his answer could be considered an endorsement for Trump, much like on the football field, Brady attempted to verbally escape the rush.
"This is really important to you guys, huh?" he joked.
Reporters pushed the issue again at a Wednesday press conference, but the quarterback wasn't having it.
Trump has spoken highly of Brady to the press before, crediting the Super Bowl-winning quarterback with his poll lead in
Massachusetts, according to a Washington Post article from earlier this month.
"In Massachusetts, I'm at 48 percent. You know why? Tom Brady said Trump's the greatest," Trump said. "He says it to anyone who asks him. You know, it's hard for a guy like him to say that. When you're a football player, you don't want to be taking sides in campaigns and having the Hillary [Clinton] people now say you're not as good as Bart Starr. You understand. So Tom Brady is great."
Brady distanced himself from a formal Trump endorsement in September after commenting offhand that a Trump presidency would "be great." Reporters also spotted a Trump "Make America Great Again" hat in his Patriots locker.
“It’s just a different world than when I started in professional football. Even an off-handed comment like that, like you said, that people may run with; and I understand why people do run with it because you get the clicks and that type of stuff. It’s just people doing their job. A comment like that, I try to have fun with certain things,”
Brady said in a WEEI interview at the time.
"Whatever I vote is going to be my own personal choice based on how I feel. I don’t even know what the issues are. I haven’t paid attention to politics in a long time. It’s actually not something that I really even enjoy. It’s way off my radar," he continued.