Podcast Summary

Podcast: Pablo Torre Finds Out
Episode: Bon Jovi, the Bills and Operation Big Tree: Inside Trump’s Plot to Buy an NFL Team
Host: Pablo Torre (A), Guest: Noah Shachtman (B)
Date: September 20, 2024

Overview

In this episode, Pablo Torre and investigative journalist Noah Shachtman dive deep into the bizarre, untold story of Donald Trump’s 2014 attempt to purchase the Buffalo Bills. The tale weaves together sports fandom, political operatives, hair metal rivalries, and the lengths to which Trump and his team went to sabotage Jon Bon Jovi’s rival bid for the Bills—all orchestrated through a secretive group of Bills super-fans known as the "Big Tree Boys." The episode draws on Rolling Stone reporting and first-hand accounts, revealing how this failed NFL team quest echo’s Trump’s lifelong pursuits—and what might have been if he’d succeeded.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Strange Origin: Operation Big Tree

• Spring 2014: The saga starts in a rehab hospital with a man named Chuck, who just had his leg amputated. Mike, a lifelong friend and Bills fanatic, gives Chuck a secret mission—just days after the death of Ralph Wilson, the Bills' longtime owner. (01:10–03:12)
  • “Mike comes to me in the hospital and says, you gotta do something... I just got my leg up two days ago.” — Chuck via Pablo (02:04)
• A Team Assembles: Mike (aka Michael Caputo, political operative) drafts a ragtag crew including a former cop and a t-shirt guy. Their job: keep the Bills in Buffalo—and out of Jon Bon Jovi’s hands. (02:46–03:12)

Trump’s Lifelong NFL Obsession

• Over the decades, Trump attempts to buy at least six football teams, including the Colts, Cowboys, Patriots, and most iconically, the USFL’s New Jersey Generals, always bending the narrative after losing out. (06:24–07:54)
  • “Only a loser would buy the Cowboys.” — Donald Trump (07:19)
• Trump’s push to merge the USFL with the NFL culminates in a bizarre antitrust lawsuit, which he wins… but is awarded only $1. (14:05–16:11)
  • “The jury awards them $1. That’s right, $1.” — Noah (16:11)

The 2014 Bills Sale: Bon Jovi vs. Trump

• Jon Bon Jovi, backed by the Toronto Maple Leafs owners, becomes Trump's main rival bidder. Buffalo fans (stoked by rumors the team would be relocated) are incited against Bon Jovi by Caputo, Chuck, and the Big Tree Boys in a grassroots propaganda campaign. (23:28–32:36)
  • “They gather all these people together… started a Facebook group.” — Noah (29:54–30:32)
  • "No Bon Jovi" signs flood local bars and radio, who boycott his music. Even custom anti-Bon Jovi lyrics are written to the tune of "Livin’ on a Prayer." (31:01–32:36)
• Pablo notes the uncanny parallel to Trump’s signature populist strategy: “It sounds like they’re running a play from the Donald Trump playbook: America First.” (29:25–29:32)
• The campaign works—Bon Jovi becomes persona non grata in Buffalo. (33:09–33:47)
  • “Somehow it works, which is wild. I mean, this is a guy that, like, has rest stops named after him Jon Bon Jovi.” — Noah (31:44–31:51)

Trump’s Dubious Operations and Motivations

• Trump exaggerates his net worth and pushes banks (Deutsche Bank) for phony "proof of funds." He never supplies real documents, instead bringing a Forbes list of entertainers as financial evidence. (39:27–40:40)
  • “Deutsche Bank, who was basically his accomplice in this fraud, is like, sure, no problem. Here you go. Sight unseen.” — Noah (39:51)
• In the end, Pegula, owner of the Sabres, bids much higher ($1.4 billion) and wins. Trump, losing again, claims he never really wanted the Bills. (41:02–42:16)
  • “Glad I didn’t get the Bills. Better lucky than good.” — Trump tweet read by Noah (42:16–42:37)

Sliding Doors: What If Trump Had Succeeded?

• Several sources (including a confidante of Trump) say if he’d gotten the Bills, he likely wouldn’t have run for president—a crossover moment in modern American history. (43:09–44:06)
  • “If he had successfully gotten the Buffalo Bills, he would not have run for president.” — Noah (44:06)
• Bon Jovi remains “shot through the heart” by the whole saga, telling Stern in 2018 Trump was “an evil genius.” (44:47–45:17)

Culture Wars, Old Grudges, and Redemption

• Michael Caputo’s animus against Bon Jovi was partly rooted in a hair-metal vs. Deadhead cultural clash: “It was just a perfect opportunity to vent some outrage at his music that I’ve held inside me for 40 years.” (36:43–36:55)
• In a late twist (47:51), Caputo texts Noah a video where Bon Jovi heroically saves a woman on a Nashville bridge, declaring on Twitter:
  • “This is the act of a good man. All is forgiven @BonJovi and I apologize. You are unbanned. #BillsMafia.” — Michael Caputo (48:08)
• The episode ends on a note of improbable bipartisanship and closure for Bon Jovi and the Big Tree Boys.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Mad Lib Plot Unfolds:
  • “Jon Bon Jovi. It just feels like I’m trapped in a mad lib.” — Pablo (04:36)
• On Trump’s NFL Obsession:
  • “Donald Trump has rarely been as horny as he has been for football teams.” — Noah (06:24)
• USFL Lawsuit:
  • “The jury awards them $1. That’s right, $1.” — Noah (16:11)
• Weaponizing Fandom:
  • “They gather all these people together... started a Facebook group.” — Noah (29:54–30:32)
  • “[They] wrote an open letter... I want you to hear this from me. I’m not risking it all to let you down.” — Bon Jovi’s letter (33:14–33:21)
• Closing the Pop-Culture Loop:
  • “Jon Bon Jovi is a goddamn superhero. That’s incredible.” — Noah (47:42)
  • “All is forgiven @BonJovi and I apologize. You are unbanned. #BillsMafia.” — Caputo text (48:08)
• Sliding Doors for America:
  • “If he had successfully gotten the Buffalo Bills, he would not have run for president.” — Noah (44:06)
  • “A story that starts with this plot... ends with something that feels like bipartisan agreement.” — Pablo (48:52)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:53 Origin of the story: Chuck, Mike, and the post-amputation mission
• 06:24 Trump’s history of NFL and failed team bids
• 14:05 The USFL antitrust lawsuit; winning $1
• 23:28 Michael Caputo’s background and assembling the strike team
• 29:25 Launching the anti-Bon Jovi campaign
• 31:44 The anti-Bon Jovi campaign’s surprising success
• 39:27 Trump’s financial deception with Deutsche Bank
• 41:02 Pegula outbids Trump; Trump rewrites the narrative
• 43:09 Sliding doors: “If Trump got the Bills, no presidential run”
• 44:47 Bon Jovi’s heartbreak and years of therapy
• 47:51 Bon Jovi heroically saves a woman; Caputo apologizes publicly

Tone & Style

The episode is both witty and incisive, mixing Pablo Torre’s signature dry humor with Noah Shachtman’s investigative color. They move from ironic disbelief to serious cultural analysis, with irreverent jokes and asides providing comic relief in a tale that feels both absurd and consequential.

Final Thoughts

Pablo and Noah peel back the curtain not just on Trump’s sporting ambitions, but on the mechanics of how politics, fandom, and cultural grievance can be weaponized through grassroots (and sometimes truly bizarre) means. The episode underscores a key alternate history: Trump’s Buffalo Bills bid was more than a footnote; it could have rewritten the direction of American politics. In the end, a viral act of Bon Jovi kindness offers a redemptive coda, closing one of the strangest chapters in NFL and political history.

For listeners craving a wild, detailed story that links NFL fixation, celebrity rivalry, and a presidential butterfly effect—all with Rolling Stone flavor—this episode delivers in spades.