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On Sunday Donald Trump will make history as the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl, where he will watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Specific details around the president’s visit to New Orleans are still to be confirmed, however, a bigger question remains: Who will Trump be supporting?
The New York-raised Republican has never publicly expressed an allegiance to any particular team and has made appearances at numerous sporting events. However, it remains to be seen if he will stay impartial, or let previous beef with pop megastar Taylor Swift affect who he is cheering on.
In a pre-game interview with Fox, the president said he would “hate” to choose a side and that he was looking forward to watching “a great game.” However, he did predict a winner after praising Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany.
“I hate to do it but.. I watched this great quarterback who has a phenomenal wife. She’s a MAGA fan… she’s a great person. I guess you have to say that when a quarterback wins as much as he’s won, I’d have to go with Kansas City,” he said.
“At the same time, Philadelphia has a fantastic [team] it’s going to be a great game.”
Even prior to the prediction, on paper, Trump looked more likely to favor the Chiefs, having congratulated the team when they reached the Super Bowl, writing: “What a GREAT Team, Coach, Quarterback, and virtually everything else, including those fantastic FANS, that voted for me (MAGA!) in record numbers.”
He did not show the same courtesy to the Eagles.
When the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, during Trump’s first term, multiple members of the team chose not to attend the invitation to the White House which is extended to all Super Bowl champions.
Players including Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long were among those who declined the offer after voicing support for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who in 2016 began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
The perceived slight led to Trump rescinding the offer to the whole team.
As well as Mahomes, Trump has previously praised Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce – after he said he considered it “a great honor” that the president would be in attendance.
“I think, you know, no matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there, you know, it’s the best country in the world. So, that’d be pretty cool,” Kelce said.
However, while the president has lavished praise on both men, and Mahomes’ wife, he is not quite so fond of Kelce’s partner.
“I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” the president fumed on Truth Social, shortly after the popstar publicly endorsed his then-rival Kamala Harris for president in September. Trump also spoke on Fox and Friends to say that he was “not a fan” of the singer.
“It was just a question of time… But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace,” he said.
Like the president, Swift will be at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, to cheer on the Chiefs. It may be wise to keep the pair apart.
