Trump: Tom Brady ‘a total winner!’

by Jesse Byrnes - 09/03/15 1:23 PM ET

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump congratulated New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for having his four-game suspension overturned Thursday by a judge.

“Congratulations to Tom Brady on yet another great victory- Tom is my friend and a total winner!” the celebrity real estate tycoon tweeted.

Congratulations to Tom Brady on yet another great victory- Tom is my friend and a total winner!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2015

{mosads}In May, before he officially launched his 2016 presidential bid, Trump called for the star quarterback to sue the NFL for its handling of Deflategate — which Brady eventually did.

I hope Tom Brady sues the hell out of the @nfl for incompetence & defamation. They will drop the case against him–and he will win.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2015

His congratulatory remarks Thursday came on the heels of a federal judge’s ruling that vacated the NFL’s suspension of Brady over underinflated footballs. The decision prompted elation among New England lawmakers.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman said the league’s suspension of Brady should be overturned on the grounds that it lacked several legal sufficiencies. Berman said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell went too far with his punishment of Brady, who has insisted he played no role in the conspiracy to let air out of the balls.

“Because there was no notice of a four-game suspension in the circumstances presented here, Commissioner Goodell may be said to have ‘dispensed his own brand of industrial justice,’ ” Berman wrote, partially citing a previous case, according to The Associated Press.

Goodell said in a statement that the league will appeal the ruling “in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game.”

The NFL season starts next week.

Trump’s praise for Brady caught political flak when the campaign for GOP rival former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush contrasted it with Trump’s ongoing criticism of Bush speaking Spanish.

“Brady and his wife Gisele speak Portuguese in their home,” Bush communications director Tim Miller tweeted, linking to a story about the star quarterback and his Brazilian wife.

Tags Donald Trump Tom Brady