GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump heaped praise on former NFL star Brett Favre on Wednesday at a rally in Green Bay, Wis., where the former Packers quarterback campaigned for the Republican presidential candidate in the final week before Election Day .
“Thanks, Brett. What a great honor. “What a great champion,” Trump said shortly after taking the stage at the Resch Center. He described Favre’s fingers as “like sausages” and said, “No wonder he could throw the ball.”
“I’m a little upset because I think he got more applause than I did, and I’m not happy,” the former president continued, joking about the ovation Favre received in a district Trump narrowly won in 2020 .
Trump appeared on stage in an orange safety vest after riding in a garbage truck to draw attention to an offensive comment from President Joe Biden. But he sparked another controversy by revisiting his promise to “protect the women of our country.”
After complaining that his own aides had told him it was “inappropriate,” Trump insisted, “I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not.”
With just six days until the election, Trump stood by Favre’s side in this critical condition. In a sign of the state’s importance, Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, was simultaneously campaigning in predominantly Democratic Madison, about a two-and-a-half hour drive away.
Favre, who won three NFL Most Valuable Player Awards and a Super Bowl for Green Bay in the 1990s, praised Trump before the former president’s arrival, telling the crowd: “Much like the Packer organization, Donald Trump and his organization were a winner .”
“The United States of America won with his leadership,” Favre said.
By relying on Favre, Trump is leveraging the state’s deep and faithful support for the Packers and the team’s former star quarterback. But Favre also has more to do with his involvement in the social spending scandal in Mississippi.
There are no criminal charges against Favre, 55, but he is among more than three dozen people or groups being sued as the state tries to recover missed money. Favre has repaid just over $1 million he received in speaking fees funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Auditor Shad White of Mississippi, a Republican, said Favre never showed up for the speeches. White also said Favre still owes nearly $730,000 in interest.
Mississippi has been one of the poorest states for decades, but only a fraction of the state’s welfare money goes to families. Instead, the Mississippi Department of Human Services allowed well-connected people to squander tens of millions in welfare money from 2016 to 2019, according to White and state and federal prosecutors.
A nonprofit group called the Mississippi Community Education Center made two welfare payments to Favre Enterprises, the athlete’s company: $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018. The TANF money was supposed to go to a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi flow. Favre agreed to lead fundraisers for the facility at his alma mater, where his daughter began playing on the volleyball team in 2017.
Mississippi Community Education Center director Nancy New pleaded guilty in April 2022 to false spending of welfare funds, as did her son Zachary New, who helped run the nonprofit. They are awaiting sentencing and have agreed to testify against others.
Favre appeared in September before a Republican-led congressional committee investigating how states are failing to utilize welfare to support needy families. U.S. House Republicans said a scandal over missed welfare spending in Mississippi involving Favre and others shows the need for “serious reform” of the TANF program.
Favre told the congressional committee that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in January.
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Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
