Ryan Clark has spent the better part of the past decade developing his voice as a member of the media.
And while the former NFL safety has largely focused on football, the past few years have seen him also tackle politics, including in the lead up to the 2024 election.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Clark had some thoughts regarding the outcome of the election, which saw Donald Trump handily defeat Kamala Harris to secure a second — albeit non-consecutive — term in the White House. Over the course of a more than three-minute-long video posted to X, the ESPN NFL analyst reflected on Trump’s first term in office and how he plans to approach the next four years.
“I’ve had a couple of days to digest the election and right afterwards, I put out a tweet saying that I respect President Trump as the president and his office,” Clark said. “And there was a lot of pushback from my community on social. I voted for Kamala Harris. But it reminded me of how divisive this country had gotten, how divisive this election had gotten.
“When did the side that candidate won feel like they won the Super Bowl? When did they brag about it? When did they boast about it? When did they throw it in your face? Because it was just their guy, not our guy. Or on the other side, the sadness, the depression. People truly thinking this not being a place that they could live.”
1 of the beautiful things about America is democracy. Many have fought, & died for our right to choose OUR leadership. I was blessed to exercise that right again in 2024.
The majority has spoken & Donald Trump is OUR President. I will respect him & his office as such. 🙏🏾 !
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 6, 2024
Clark proceeded to recall Barack Obama’s presidency, stating that the 44th president represented America with “class and with grace and with elegance and with decency.” He also claimed that Obama’s two terms were scandal-free — a stark contrast from Trump’s campaigns and presidency — before walking back his previous pledge to respect the 45th and 47th president as a person.
“The difficult part is I do understand that not everyone that supports him believes in his rhetoric. Not everyone that supports him thinks bigotry is OK,” Clark said. “I’ll give him that grace because I do want salvation for all people. It’s going to be forever hard to respect the man — and I don’t and I won’t. But I will respect the office.
“I want to be a sane man in an insane society. I want to be a reasonable man in an unreasonable man. So I won’t be divisive. But I do hope, for all of our sakes, that he understands that he’s our president.”
Right after the election I posted that I would respect President Trump “him” as the President, & his office. People felt a way about that, & I understand. An election has never been more divisive, & the country is more split now than it’s been in decades.
After 8 years of being… pic.twitter.com/L7IvfDZ8MZ
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 11, 2024
Ultimately, Clark appears to be walking a tight rope when it comes to not wanting to be divisive but also understanding his followers’ — and his own — frustrations with Trump. If the last eight years have been any indication, this won’t be the last time the host of The Pivot finds himself weighing in on the current president elect and it will be interesting to see how his thoughts on the subject continue to evolve.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.