Barry Sanders 2020? Garth Brooks’ Detroit Lions jersey mistaken for Bernie Sanders endorsement
When someone mentions a B. Sanders in the Motor City, Detroiters are much more likely to think about the gridiron than the ballot box.
But some online commenters seemed to have forgotten that when country singer Garth Brooks donned the No. 20 jersey of legendary Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders and posted photos to social media, mistakenly interpreting the jersey as an endorsement of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Brooks wore the jersey during a concert on Saturday at Detroit’s Ford Field, where the Lions play. This prompted backlash from several fans, some of whom threatened to stop supporting Brooks and disparaged Bernie Sanders and socialism at large.
Brooks and the Sanders of National Football League fame — who both attended Oklahoma State University — both weighed in on the mix-up, joking about Barry Sanders also running for the presidency.
“Hey @garthbrooks, want to be my VP? #Number20for2020,” Barry Sanders tweeted on Friday.
Brooks replied, “Hey @BarrySanders I would run any race with you! #Number20for2020 HA!!! love you pal, g.”
The Detroit Lions also chimed in, with the team’s Twitter account posting a picture of Barry Sanders with the caption, “He’s got our vote,” and an emoji of a goat, signifying that the former running back is the greatest of all time.
Michigan will be a crucial swing state in the 2020 race. While Michigan’s Wayne County, which includes Detroit, went strongly for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, Trump won the state by 0.2%.
A Quinnipiac poll from last week showed that all Democratic candidates would narrowly beat Trump in a one-on-one matchup, with Bernie Sanders holding the greatest lead, at 48% to Trump’s 43%.
Bernie Sanders narrowly won the state in 2016’s primary election against Clinton.
He most recently campaigned there in October with Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and he announced last week that his campaign will be hiring nine more staffers and opening additional field offices in the state, the Detroit Free Press reported.
