Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka said ending his run for Senate was his "biggest mistake" because it allowed then-Senator Barack Obama to make it to the White House, USA TODAY reported.
Ditka, who currently works as an ESPN broadcaster, was publicly deliberating a run for U.S. Senate in 2004. While speaking to the audience at North Dakota's Oil Patch last week, he claimed the only reason Obama was in office today is because of him.
"Biggest mistake I've ever made," Ditka said about a possible career in politics. "Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and he wouldn't be in the White House."
Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor responded to Ditka's comments on Twitter.
"Mike Ditka only pretended to run for Senate so he could publicize his restaurant. And Obama would've smoked him," Vietor said in a post.
Although he said he had "no idea" why he was invited to the opening of Oil Patch, he delivered a general speech about his life in the sports industry before he veered off to his political beliefs, calling himself "the luckiest guy in the world."
"If somebody would have told me 40 years ago they'd pay you to be on TV, I would have said 'You're crazy.' They pay me to be on TV and talk about something I like to talk about, football. That's almost insane. Sometimes the guys on TV are insane, by the way."
He added that the energy industry in North Dakota is "fantastic."
"It's a boom for this state and for the country... of course, if the politicians don't screw it up somehow," he said.
Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and the New Orleans Saints for three after ending his career as a player.
