Tom Brady Comments on Friendship with President Donald Trump

Tom Brady confirmed his friendship with President Donald Trump during an interview on Kirk & Callahan on Monday, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

"I have called him, yes, in the past," Brady noted. "Sometimes he calls me. Sometimes I call. But, again, that’s been someone I’ve known. I always try to keep it in context because for 16 years you know someone before maybe he was in the position that he was in. He’s been very supportive of me for a long time. It’s just a friendship. I have a lot of friends. I call a lot of people."

Brady said he didn't want the topic to become a distraction for his team and expressed his confusion over why it might be considered an issue in the first place.

“Why does everybody make such a big deal?" he asked. "I don’t understand it."

When the hosts pointed out that many people have found a number of Trump's statements or stances highly offensive and might associate Brady's friendship with an endorsement of those stances, Brady said that wasn't the case.

"I don’t want to get into it, but if you know someone, it doesn’t mean you agree with everything they say or they do," he said. "You have a lot of friends in your life. I think there are things that are based in your own dealings with someone that is a personal dealing, not a public dealing. Because you have personal experiences."

Brady had previously distanced himself from Trump, even trying to avoid discussing him during a press conference last week.

"I don’t have much to say," Brady said Friday afternoon when asked about Trump's inauguration, per Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today. 

And when asked if he had called Trump, as the president claimed, Brady chose to avoid the topic.

"Did I call him?" he said, repeating the question. "Let’s talk about football stuff."

Trump, who has mentioned his connection to both Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in the past, again mentioned the New England quarterback during a speech last Thursday.

"In the audience we have somebody that's under no pressure whatsoever 'cause he's got a great quarterback named Tom Brady and a great coach named Belichick: Bob Kraft. So good luck, Bob," Trump said, per Nate Scott of Fox Sports. "Your friend Tom just called, he feels good. He called to congratulate us, he feels good. Good luck. You’re going to do great things."

Brady likely would prefer talking about football after leading the Patriots to another Super Bowl, the seventh he and Belichick have reached as a quarterback-coach duo in New England. That's an NFL record, per SportsCenter:

Awaiting them will be the Atlanta Falcons, who rolled past the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, 44-21. Not to be outdone, the Patriots then handled the Pittsburgh Steelers, 36-17. But given the additional scrutiny that players and coaches face in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, neither Brady nor Belichick is likely done answering questions about his relationship with Trump.