Lane Kiffin Shares ‘Make Baton Rouge Great’ Hats After Mentioning Donald Trump
LSU’s head coach Lane Kiffin isn’t shy about blending work with politics.
The former Ole Miss coach stirred some controversy with a social media post on Friday, January 23, featuring a photo of two hats that read, “Make Baton Rouge Great,” while tagging President Donald Trump.
The phrase on the hat clearly references President Trump’s famous slogan, “Make America Great Again,” which first made waves in 1980 under former President Ronald Reagan.
After amassing nearly nine thousand likes on X, Kiffin, 50, removed the post the following day, January 24, as criticism grew in the comments. Later that day, he shared the same image again, but with a different caption, “@LSUfootball #225,” referencing the Baton Rouge area code (225).
“Hey man, you’ve had a phenomenal two and a half months, and you’re old enough to have heard not to talk politics at work,” remarked one user on the original post. “You may not care how people view you, but some recruits’ parents ain’t gonna care about the money…”
“Love you Lane. Terrible tweet,” another user expressed.
In spite of the criticism, Kiffin also garnered some support in the comments of the original tweet.
“Lane is working on bringing more national attention to the team, let him cook. Big picture,” one user stated.
“This makes me actually like you,” another added.
Kiffin annoyed some college football fans in November when he abruptly switched from Ole Miss to LSU, despite overseeing a standout season for the Rebels.
Upon his exit, he was met with boos and expletives from fans at the airport, with some gestures of discontent thrown in for good measure.
“This was a very challenging and difficult day,” Kiffin told ESPN prior to boarding his flight to Baton Rouge in November. “We went through a lot last night with Keith Carter trying to figure out a way to make this playoff run work and be able to coach the team, and at the end of the day that’s his decision. I totally respect that and understand it. I just wish the team the best of luck; I wish I was coaching, but I understand the difficult position he was in.”
Kiffin asserted that he intended to continue coaching Ole Miss throughout the College Football Playoff—even after deciding to leave—and claimed the team wanted him to stay longer, but was denied that chance by Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter.
Some players disagreed with Kiffin’s assertions.
“‘Despite the team asking me to keep coaching,’” Ole Miss offensive lineman Brycen Sanders tweeted on December 2, quoting Kiffin’s statement. “I believe everyone in that room would disagree.”
Lineman Paris Wilkins echoed Sanders, writing, “Fax this was not said by anyone.”
Even after the Rebels pulled off a stunning 39-34 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP quarterfinal on January 1, defensive tackle Zxavian Harris claimed that Kiffin was trying to “steal our shine.”
“That’s all he’s trying to do,” Harris stated. “He’s been attempting to steal our shine all along.”
Ole Miss eventually lost to the University of Miami, 31-27, in the CFP semifinal round.
