Jaxson Dart made headlines when he participated in President Donald Trump’s rally supporting Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in New York, where he even took the stage to introduce Trump.
However, this incident did not sit well with some teammates. Abdul Carter, a fellow first-round pick for the New York Giants from the 2025 NFL Draft, publicly critiqued Dart’s appearance online.
In a post on X, Carter expressed his disbelief, stating, “Thought this (expletive) was AI. What we doing, man?”
Although his initial reaction garnered significant attention, Carter later clarified their relationship. He reassured fans and teammates via a subsequent post, emphasizing that he and Dart were “good.”
“Me & JD6 are good!” he wrote Saturday on X. “We spoke earlier as Men. Yall can keep yall narratives.”
This exchange sparked speculation about possible rifts within the Giants’ locker room. Yet, New York offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor quickly stepped in to downplay the situation, asserting that the team atmosphere remains “fine.”
In a twist, former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes also weighed in on Carter’s comments, suggesting a more critical perspective.
Interestingly, Dart is not the only Giants player to express support for Trump. In fact, John Harbaugh, Carter’s coach, along with his younger brother, Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Chargers, visited Trump at the White House back in 2025.
Dart and Carter were selected as the third and 25th overall players in the 2025 NFL Draft. Carter, who had a stellar rookie season at Penn State, recorded 4.0 sacks alongside 43 tackles, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He made six starts and participated in all 17 regular season games for the Giants.
Dart, after a rocky start to the previous season, found himself in the starting lineup amidst a 0-3 record. He ended up going 4-8, throwing for 15 touchdowns against only five interceptions while completing 63.7% of his passes.
The main concern regarding Dart’s performance last season was the excessive hits he took during games. Addressing this, Dart mentioned a meeting with new quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan to analyze last year’s scrambles. They focused on weighing the risk and reward of sliding during these plays.
“I obviously understand one of the most important things is to be out there,” he mentioned. “So you just grow and learn from things, and yeah, we’ll do a good job this year, for sure.”
