President Trump 'Not Happy' With No. 1 Pick Fernando Mendoza
The White House welcomed the Indiana Hoosiers football program to Washington, D.C. on Monday, to celebrate their 2025 College Football Playoff national championship.
Indiana was without its best player, though. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza skipped the visit to Washington, D.C. Mendoza, chosen No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, opted to stay back, working with his NFL franchise.
"I'm on the bottom of the totem pole here. I've got to prove myself," Mendoza told reporters earlier this spring. "I can't miss practice. I don't have the calendar, but as a rookie, I don't think that's a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don't know if that'd be accomplishing that goal."
President Trump commented on Mendoza's decision during Indiana's White House visit on Monday afternoon.
The President of the United States made it clear that he's "not happy."
President Trump speaks out on Mendoza's decision
President Trump made it clear that he's unhappy with Mendoza's decision, though he added some remarks about the Indiana legend.
"The reason he's not here - he was so nice, he called because he has actually . . . he's a big fan of ours," Trump said. "You wouldn't believe it, because he didn't show up. I'm not happy, but that's OK. The reason he didn't, because he's at spring training, right?"
"And he's at spring training, like his first day or something. I said, ‘You better go there.' But he became Indiana's first - otherwise, if he didn't do that, believe me, I wouldn't have even talked about him. I would have not. 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'd go through the whole [speech] - I'd talk about how great [the team was], I wouldn't even mention the quarterback's name."
Mendoza has yet to comment on Indiana's visit Monday.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 6:35 AM.