Donald Trump Heading to Super Bowl LIX in Presidential First

Donald Trump will become the first sitting U.S. president to attend the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans as a guest of Saints owner Gayle Benson.

Trump is a regular attendee at college football games, including an appearance this fall at Alabama vs. Georgia. But he had a tumultuous relationship with the NFL in his first term. He criticized the league, its players, and commissioner Roger Goodell in 2016 and years into his first administration as players kneeling during the national anthem roiled the league; in 2018, he suggested that players who kneel should leave the country.

There are too many people involved in a football team for it to be a neat party-line split, but there is a clear trend in this Super Bowl.

The wife of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, Tavia, has expressed support for Trump and Vice President JD Vance on social media in the past. Kicker Harrison Butker endorsed the president in October. The president has expressed support for Brittany Mahomes, the wife of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and the QB’s mother, Randi, wore a “Make America Great Again” hat to a game in November ahead of the election. (Brittany came under fire for liking a post about Trump on social media, after which the presidential nominee said he prefers Mahomes to her friend, superstar Taylor Swift, who had recently endorsed Kamala Harris.)

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has primarily donated to Democrats and criticized Trump in the past. When the team won the Super Bowl in 2018, a large group of players did not want to attend—then Trump uninvited them from the White House. The Eagles didn’t endorse Harris in the presidential election despite an ad falsely suggesting otherwise, but running back Saquon Barkley played golf with Barack Obama and Lurie shortly before the election.

As of Oct. 17, neither owner had donated to a presidential campaign. Tavia Hunt donated $50,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in September, in addition to other Trump-related PACs, federal election records show.

Trump will also sit with Bret Baier of Fox News for a taped interview that will air during the pregame show. It’s presidential tradition to meet with the network airing the Super Bowl ahead of the Big Game, but Trump and Joe Biden have been inconsistent with their appearances over the last eight years.

The biggest impact of Trump’s attendance may be increased security. New Orleans isn’t new to hosting big events, but it is on the heels of a deadly terrorist attack before the Sugar Bowl last month. And on top of the thousands of fans descending on the city, the world’s biggest pop star in Swift will be in attendance.

Security has already been a big focal point in the Big Easy this week, from bag checks at the French Quarter to involvement from the federal government. The superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department said Monday the city will be “a sea of blue.” Enter a man who has already survived one assassination attempt in the past year, and those efforts will likely get even more intense.

“Extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “Security measures have been further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event.”

Trump is set to attend the game with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R., La.), a graduate of LSU.

George H. W. Bush performed the Super Bowl coin toss twice, both times after leaving office. Ronald Reagan also did the coin toss virtually in 1985 from the Oval Office.