Robert Kraft on Trump: ‘You know, he doesn’t mean everything he says’
"But I'm privileged to know that."
Put Patriots owner Robert Kraft in the club of people that thinks President Donald Trump shouldn’t be taken literally.
“I know he does things or says things that sometimes — you know, he doesn’t mean everything he says,” Kraft said during a Bloomberg panel interview Wednesday. “But I’m privileged to know that. But people who don’t know him maybe don’t see the better side.”
Kraft went on to say Trump is “hardworking” and that he hoped Trump would help the poor and working class. That said, the Patriots owner said it was weird to see someone he likened to “a high school buddy or fraternity brother” become the leader of the country.
Kraft, who has praised Trump’s economic agenda, also suggested that his fellow billionaire and longtime friend hasn’t been treated fairly in the media.
“I don’t believe that he is portrayed properly and so a lot of people don’t see him the right way,” he said. “And part of it is self-inflicted with some of the things — some of the style he used. But I really hope things will be better three to six months from now.”
Earlier in the interview, Kraft described the roots of his relationship with Trump, who he said he’s known for 25 years. Following the death of his wife, Myra, in 2011, Kraft said Trump attended the funeral and continually reached out during the subsequent years.
“Loyalty and friendship trumps politics for me,” said Kraft, a lifelong Democrat who has a history of donating to politicians on both sides of the aisle. Public records released last month showed the Patriots owner gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
“If I’ve had any modicum of success, it’s because I’ve had good relationships and people trusted me,” Kraft said Wednesday. “So I always remember the people who were good to me in my most vulnerable time. And he was in that category.”
