‘Hut 1! Hut 2!’ Donald Trump Credits Tom Brady for Massachusetts Score

Donald J. Trump says he has one man to thank for his unusually large victory in the Massachusetts Republican primary on Tuesday: Tom Brady.

Mr. Trump, in an interview, said that the New England Patriots quarterback’s public show of support – he kept a “Make America Great Again” campaign hat in his locker — was an “enormous help” in the football team’s home state. Mr. Trump took 49.3 percent of the vote in Massachusetts, and his margin of victory there — 31 percentage points ahead of Gov. John Kasich of Ohio – was his largest out of the seven states he won on Tuesday.

After the Trump campaign cap was spotted in Mr. Brady’s locker last summer, the football idol talked about their years of friendship and said of Mr. Trump, “It’s pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish.” Throughout the fall football season and postseason, Mr. Trump showered praise on Mr. Brady at campaign events next door in New Hampshire, and has stood by him during the so-called Deflategate sports ordeal. In a GQ magazine article published in November, Mr. Brady praised Mr. Trump’s golf game — “He doesn’t lose. He just doesn’t lose.” — and Mr. Trump amplified that remark every chance he had.

While Mr. Brady never formally endorsed Mr. Trump, the quarterback’s views were widely known in Massachusetts. While the moderate economic and cultural views of many Massachusetts Republicans may have helped Mr. Trump, the real estate developer credited Mr. Brady most of all.

“Honestly, in that part of the world, a reference like Tom Brady saying Trump’s the biggest winner, Trump is a friend of mine, that makes an incredible difference,” Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview on Wednesday night. “Tom Brady is a great friend of mine. He’s a winner and he likes winners. He was very helpful to us in Massachusetts on Tuesday.”