It’s not hard to imagine Trump as Brady’s pal

It should come as no surprise that Tom Brady has dominated the week leading up to Super Bowl LI — not only because he is trying to become the first quarterback in league history to hoist five Lombardi Trophies, but also because of the wide range of off-field storylines.

At media night on Monday, Brady fielded a question from a 7-year-old boy who wanted to know who his hero is. After a brief pause, Brady tearfully answered that his true hero is his dad — an emotional moment that became clearer the following day when the quarterback revealed his mom, Galynn, has been ill for the last 18 months.

And as his family struggled with her illness, Brady was peppered with questions about his friendship with President Trump.

Perhaps those off-the-field stories are intertwined.

It’s no secret that Brady is extremely close to his parents and three older sisters.

I don’t think it’s that farfetched to believe that Trump reached out to his friend of 15 years to lend support when he learned Brady’s mom was sick.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Trump was there for a Patriot in his time of need. We learned last week that when Pats owner Bob Kraft’s wife, Myra, died of cancer five years ago, Trump and his wife, Melania, attended the funeral and also visited the Kraft home during shiva — a traditional Jewish weeklong mourning period. For the next year, Trump called Kraft once a week to see how his friend was dealing with the loss of his wife of 48 years.

Perhaps Trump did the same for Brady during this difficult stretch.

This may also explain why Brady didn’t attend the celebration at the White House after winning Super Bowl XLIX. The timeline Brady offered suggests his mother may have taken ill at the time of the White House visit.

Brady and NBA superstar LeBron James are far and away the two most famous and polarizing American athletes. James was applauded for supporting Hillary Clinton during the presidential election. Brady was chastised for having a “Make America Great Again” hat in his locker.

In his 17-year pro career, Brady has never really let his political beliefs be known.

We all have friends that we don’t agree with politically — but we remain loyal to them and vice versa.

Maybe Trump was just being a good friend to Brady and Kraft when that was exactly what they needed.

Or as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known to say: “It is what it is.”