WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after Donald Trump threatened to hold up a deal for a new football stadium in the nation’s capital if the Washington Commanders did not go back to the name Redskins, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s comments were not a joke.

“The president was serious,” Leavitt told reporters Monday while answering questions on the White House driveway. “Sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see the name of that team changed.”

Asked why he’s getting involved, Leavitt called Trump a “nontraditional president” and said sports fans are behind him on this.

“I think you’ve seen the president gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not,” Leavitt said. “He’s a nontraditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people and, if you actually poll this issue with sports fans across the country, and even in this city, people actually do support the president’s position on this and the name change.”