New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a Donald Trump loyalist, despite being a lifelong Democrat who contributed to Barack Obama's presidential campaigns and the Democratic National Committee.
For Kraft, though, friendship is more important than politics, and he and President Trump have been friends for well over a decade. They would watch games from Kraft's owner's suite at Foxborough, and Kraft attended Trump's 2005 star-studded wedding at Mar a Lago.
Their friendship deepened when Kraft's wife passed away from cancer in 2011. In a Sunday interview with the New York Daily News, Kraft said Trump was a comfort through the ordeal.
"When Myra died, Melania and Donald came up to the funeral in our synagogue, then they came for memorial week to visit with me," Kraft told the Daily News. "Then he called me once a week for the whole year, the most depressing year of my life when I was down and out. He called me every week to see how I was doing, invited me to things, tried to lift my spirits. He was one of five or six people that were like that. I remember that."
Kraft has high hopes for his friend, telling the Daily News how inner cities pose a challenge that the new administration could overcome.
"Working class people and lower income people, we have to help more," he said in the interview. "They've gotten hurt over the last decade a lot. We have to create jobs and a vibrant economy that helps those communities throughout America. I really believe and hope that the new administration is going to do that."
Kraft was at Trump's pre-inauguration dinner sitting near Jets owner Woody Johnson, who is expected to be the next ambassador to the United Kingdom. As of yet, no announcements have been made on whether Kraft will have an acting role in the administration.