President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend a NFL regular-season game since 1978 when he showed up to the Detroit Lions’ drubbing of the Washington Commanders in Landover, Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 9.
The crowd let the 45th president know how they felt by booing him (with a smattering of cheers) while being shown on the video board at Northwest Stadium and during a halftime military swearing-in ceremony, which Trump led.
Trump also spent a few minutes of the third quarter being interviewed by the FOX broadcast team of Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma.
‘It’s a microcosm of life,’ Trump answered when Albert asked him why he loved sports. ‘It’s sort of like life: the good, the bad, the ugly.
‘You have the triumph. You have the problems. You got to get through the problems to hit the triumphs. You can never quit. You can never give up.’
Standing between the two broadcasters, Trump complimented injured Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and praised backup Marcus Mariota – without mentioning their names and referring to them as ‘second-string’ and ‘first-string.’ He alluded to the Lions’ trade of Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff and said it worked out for both sides.
The broadcast showed a team photo from Trump’s football-playing days, uniform No. 85, at New York Military Academy. Trump admitted he never scored a touchdown.
‘I actually loved playing football … at least you realize that I never tell a lie,’ Trump said.
It seems Trump has strayed from his New York allegiances as a fan of both the Giants and Jets. There was praise of one of Vilma’s teammates with the New Orleans Saints, quarterback Drew Brees. As far as his game analysis, Trump harped on the importance of the Commanders’ drive as they trailed 32-10.
Vilma asked him about the general health of the nation. The stock market hit an all-time high, Trump said, along with his claim that ‘prices are coming down.’
‘We’re doing great,’ Trump said. ‘Just how (the Commanders) are doing right now.’
Mariota hit Deebo Samuel for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 32-16 after he said that.
‘I love ratings,’ Trump later said. ‘But you guys have the ratings.’
Trump went on to wax poetic about Washington coaches of the past and name-dropped George Allen and Joe Gibbs.
When Albert gave Trump the opening to exit stage left, Trump replied, ‘I’d love to have your job.’
Trump is no stranger to sporting events. He attended Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans in February shortly after beginning his second term. He was also on hand for the first day of play at the Ryder Cup in New York, the Major League Baseball playoffs and the men’s final of the US Open.
Trump attempted to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and his relationship with the league while in office is a complicated one, from his bashing of the protests that took place during the national anthem during his first term to standing in the Oval Office with commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this year to announce that the 2027 NFL draft will be held in Washington D.C. ESPN reported Nov. 8 that Trump wants the Commanders’ new stadium, at the former RFK Stadium site in Washington, to be named after him.