Fernando Mendoza skipped the Indiana University Hoosiers’ White House visit on May 11. President Donald Trump, who is now seventy-nine years old, addressed the absence with reporters in Washington, D.C.
He explained to the reporters that the Heisman Trophy winner had personally called him ahead of the event. Mendoza, who is now twenty-two years old, is the Las Vegas Raiders’ new starting quarterback. As per the president, spring training was the reason behind Fernando Mendoza’s no-show.
“Now the reason he’s not here — he was so nice, he called,” the president shared.
“He’s been great and he’s at spring training, like his first day or something. I said, ‘You better go there,'” he added.
He also shared that the whole reason Mendoza’s name came up was that phone call. That being said, had it been politics keeping the quarterback away rather than spring training, the president said he would have stayed quiet about the absence entirely.
“If he was not here for other reasons like he didn’t like Trump or he didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t have even mentioned him. I wouldn’t even mention the quarterback’s name, but he’s a great guy actually, and he’s actually a big fan of what we’re doing for our country,” shared the Pressident.
Fernando Mendoza had already explained his White House absence before the President Donald Trump addressed it:
Earlier in the month, Mendoza had made it clear to reporters that he most likely wouldn’t be making the trip to D.C. As per a report shared by Us Weekly, the Mendoza revealed on May 2 that the Hoosiers’ scheduled White House visit fell on what he believed to be his first day of organized team activities with the Las Vegas Raiders. Being a rookie, missing that wasn’t something he was willing to risk.
“I believe May 11th is the first day of OTAs … if it is on the first day of OTAs, like I say, I’m at the bottom of the totem pole here [in Las Vegas], I’ve got to prove myself,” Mendoza told reporters.
“I can’t miss practice. Yeah, I can’t miss practice. … I’m a rookie. I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to serve my teammates and I don’t know whether that would be achieving my goal,” he continued.
That being said, Mendoza wasn’t the only one absent. As per Us Weekly, every one of the eight Hoosiers drafted into the NFL missed the South Lawn ceremony. The Hoosiers had finished 16-0 last season, clinching their first College Football Playoff National Championship back in January.
During his speech, Donald Trump still vouched for the quarterback and got a laugh out of the situation.
“He’s a big fan of ours, but you wouldn’t believe it because he didn’t show up,” Trump said.
“I’m not happy, but that’s OK, the reason he didn’t is because he’s at spring training. I actually said, ‘Let him. He’s gotta win.’ I think he’s going to win pretty early,” he added.
Fernando Mendoza skipped the NFL Draft in person for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis:
Mendoza’s mother, Elsa, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007 and currently uses a wheelchair. When the 2026 NFL Draft came around, he turned down attending in person. Mendoza opened up about the decision on April 20 on ESPN’s The Rich Eisen Show.
“My mom really wanted to do it at home and so did my parents. It’s a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation,” he said.
The travel itself played into it too.
“We’d have to hop on a plane the next morning anyway,” he continued.
“For that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home. I wanted to stay and make the memory with everybody who poured into my football journey. Mentors, coaches, family, friends. Being able to share that moment with all of them is going to be the best memory that I can make, rather than limiting it to 10 or 12 people in Pittsburgh,” he added.
On a separate front, Trump’s week has been a packed one. As per a report shared by CNBC, trade negotiators from the U.S. and China are set to meet in Seoul, South Korea. The meeting comes ahead of his sit-down with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing, due Thursday and Friday. World leaders are watching. The summit is being viewed as a pivotal moment for U.S.-China relations, with the regional dynamic between both countries very much in play.
Edited by Ryan D’souza