Thanks to Melania, there isn’t even a need to infer the association. That should be thanks to Melania, the documentary internationally panned as “unredeemable”, a “gilded infomercial”, an “accidental mockumentary” and a work of propaganda so artistically poor it would make Leni Riefenstahl squirm, among various other anti-compliments.
But the premiere in Washington, at least, did provide further evidence that Robert Kraft’s billionaire bromance with Donald Trump is back on. Because there the New England owner was, sitting right next to him in the presidential box at the Kennedy Centre, then joining in a standing ovation as if he had never not been a rusted-on ally.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft (right) joined Donald Trump in the presidential box for the Melania documentary premiere in Washington on January 29.Credit: AP
As if he had never felt so upset by the January 6 insurrection that he’d distanced himself from a “social friend” dating back to the early 1990s, around the time he purchased the Patriots. Until recently, it seemed as if the Kraft who donated $1 million to Trump’s 2017 inauguration had ceased to exist. But then, it has been five years since the Capitol riots. Enough time for water to flow under the bridge, and for an absurdly influential 84-year-old to understand that moral standards aren’t what they once were, and it doesn’t matter anyway if you don’t have the ear of the autocrat.
And so here the pair were, two months after attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw together – Kraft was also a founding investor of Major League Soccer and helped secure the tournament’s hosting rights – back together at the same venue, presenting the world with a slice of pre-Super Bowl symbolism utterly perfect for these times. Unwittingly allegorical, in the same way Melania film director Brett Ratner almost certainly did not mean to parody the First Lady.
Robert Kraft hands over a Trump jersey at the White House during New England’s visit after winning the 2017 Super Bowl.Credit: Boston Globe via Getty Images
And teaching us what, exactly? Nothing of much actionable value, to be fair. But if the Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Monday’s NFL decider, we will have to acknowledge Trump’s America beamed back at us out of another major sporting orifice. It is unfortunate, given this might have finally been the season the franchise scrounged back some broad goodwill it has not experienced for two decades.
Not since the team in red, white and blue won their first title in the aftermath of 9/11, when Kraft’s post-game “We are all Patriots” speech and U2’s halftime show united the nation’s emotional intensity. New England were underdogs then, and Tom Brady MVP a second-year quarterback. That was the start of Bill Belichick’s overlord years, yielding six Super Bowl titles and too much success for mass appeal.
Now they are back after those several barren post-Brady/Belichick years, even underdogs for the first time since 2002 and punching above their weight under a loveable coach in Mark Vrabel. But a good coach who is also nice can only outweigh so much – and not just the claims that their turnaround from 4-13 last season to 17-3 this one is mainly courtesy of one of the easiest schedules in recent memory.
Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo walk to the field for Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 – the last time these two teams met in NFL’s ultimate decider.Credit: Getty Images
There is also the two players currently facing allegations of violence against women. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore is accused of domestic assault, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs of strangulation and assault by a former personal chef. Barmore’s arraignment has been postponed so he can play on Monday. Both deny the allegations, though it could get awkward if either is crucial in a Patriots win.
And, well, the rest.
Spygate: the videotaping scandal involving New England’s surreptitious and expansive surveillance of opposing teams, along with further reports of sneaking into the visiting locker room to steal opponents’ play sheets.
Deflategate: one of the stranger stories in NFL lore involving accusations Brady deflated footballs to make them easier to grip, and an ensuing high-profile legal saga complete with character assassinations and endless dark comedy.
Then there’s the undeniable MAGA energy surrounding the team. And not just because of a report that Trump attempted to bribe a US senator into dropping the Spygate investigation (denied by both Trump and Kraft). Or because it sounds uncannily similar to one of Trump’s better-known conspiracies.
Not even because of the “Make America Great Again” hat discovered in Brady’s locker in 2015. “I mean, it’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish,” Brady said at the time. “He obviously appeals to a lot of people, and he’s a hell of a lot of fun to play golf with.” Brady later said his pro-Trump comments were taken out of context, and made it clear the hat was delivered to his locker by Kraft and not himself.
But because Kraft, like Trump (and Ratner, as it happens), is a prominent individual mentioned in the Epstein files. According to the most recent release, Jeffrey Epstein wanted Kraft to hire his lawyer to defend him against his 2019 charges of soliciting prostitution. In a text exchange with said lawyer, Jack Goldberger, Epstein also mentioned he needed him to “know about a past issue with Kraft that may come to light”. There was no further information regarding the nature of the “past issue”.
What we do know is that Kraft was cleared of soliciting prostitution over the course of two visits to a Florida massage establishment called the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, because the surveillance video allegedly capturing him paying for sex was blocked from being used at the trial.
As such, the two misdemeanour charges were dropped in September 2020 (thus there was also no evidence he was linked to a massive, multimillion-dollar sex-trafficking ring being investigated at the time).
Speaking of evidence, there is also none to speak of that his (and Belichick’s) snubbing from this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class has anything to do with any of the above. It is, one might suggest, merely a popularity contest, and Kraft’s Patriots are the team everyone loves to hate.
The darker side is that Kraft is a shrewd businessman and a political chameleon. He has, in the past, shown glimpses of deep principles, particularly as a diplomat during the fraught period after Colin Kaepernick took a knee in protest of the police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling by police. He has, in the past, supported Democratic candidates. By realigning himself with Trump at this frightening juncture in history, he has slipped into a world lacking in ethics and in humanity. And if he is presented with the trophy on Monday as the winning owner, Trump will have won the NFL.
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