2 weeks ago
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Old footage of Donald Trump praising Joe Flacco has resurfaced after the quarterback's stunning performance against Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
Flacco, 40, rolled back the years in only his second game for the Cincinnati Bengals as they downed the Steelers 33-31 to move to 3-4 for the season. He threw 342 yards and recorded three touchdowns, with Ja'Marr Chase his primary target on 16 receptions.
His performance sparked 10-year-old footage of Trump to resurface where discusses the NFL in a different era of both politics and football.
Back in 2015, three months after he shocked the world by announcing he was going to run for president, Trump carried out a Q&A on Twitter where one follower asked him how highly he rated Flacco.
'I think Joe Flacco is actually a very elite quarterback,' Trump answered. 'He won a Super Bowl, he did it really to a certain extent with that great arm of his. I would say, absolutely, he is an elite quarterback.'
Flacco led the Baltimore Ravens to glory in the 2012 season, beating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 and winning Super Bowl MVP in the process.
Joe Flacco led the Cincinnati Bengals to a stunning 33-31 win over Pittsburgh Steelers
It led to a 10-year-old clip of Donald Trump praising 'elite' Flacco to resurface on social media
But Flacco's performance on Thursday in a short week is all the more remarkable given he was only traded to the Bengals on October 7 from the Cleveland Browns.
As for Trump, he has always been very comfortable discussing the NFL and when he hit the campaign trail last year, he appeared on the popular football podcast 'Bussin' with the Boys'.
Earlier in 2025, he made history by becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl when he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
He also once nearly bought the Buffalo Bills, too. He offered $1billion for the franchise back in 2014 but was outbid by $400million by the Pegula family, who still own the organization today.
'The owner who got it is a very good man. I think he's done a great job. Well, he made a great pick - he picked a great quarterback in Josh (Allen),' Trump said in that same Bussin' interview.
'I bid $1bn dollars and I put up a letter of credit. I thought I might get it because it was in Buffalo which was having some troubles... and (Pegula) bid $1.4bn - so it's $400m more.
'I don't think it was a very serious run but I gave them a guarantee of a $1bn so that's always serious, right?'
Flacco and the Bengals, meanwhile, have an eight-day break before the quarterback returns to the field to try and prove Trump's point once again.
They host the struggling New York Jets, who are 0-6. Flacco is expected to deputize until December, with starting quarterback Joe Burrow out after having surgery on turf toe.
