Trump, who has a complex relationship with the NFL, attends the Super Bowl

Despite a contentious history of fusing politics and sports and a tense relationship with the National Football League, U.S. President Donald Trump was the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl in person on Sunday, to a mixed reception of applause and jeers.

Trump, his son Eric, daughter Ivanka, and a number of politicians who traveled with him on Air Force One to New Orleans watched the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles game from a box in the Superdome in New Orleans. Melania Trump, the first lady, did not go.

Three weeks after he began his second term in office with unilateral orders to tighten down on immigration and terminate federal diversity programs, the president’s visit placed the Republican at the center of a traditional American hobby that unites people from all political backgrounds.

It also brought national differences and divergent views on his policies to light.

The audience gave him a mix of applause and jeers when he entered the stadium to have a brief meeting with the relatives of the victims of the attack on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day, as well as police officers and emergency personnel.

Trump’s visit also brought to light the disparity between the NFL’s choice to continue its own inclusion-promoting measures and his directive to terminate federal diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives.

On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that he has no intention of reducing NFL diversity initiatives.

While traveling to New Orleans on Air Force One, Trump admitted to reporters that he was unaware of the NFL’s initiatives.

In reference to Goodell, Trump remarked, “I’d have to look at what he said he’s happy with,” “He was happy also with the flag and a lot of other things that didn’t work out too well.”

Trump attacked the league and its players during his first term in office when Black athletes protested racial injustice by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.

As it has done since 2021, the league did not place the words “End Racism” behind one of the end zones for Sunday’s game. Instead, it substituted the message “Choose Love.”

Trump launched advertisements during football games last year as a presidential candidate, criticizing his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for her position on transgender rights. “Kamala’s for they/them; President Trump is for you,” the advertisement stated.

Trump’s attack on transgender rights from the White House has been successful, and last week he signed an executive order aimed at barring transgender women and girls from participating in female sports.

Several celebrities attended the game, including Trump. The Chiefs player Travis Kelce and superstar singer Taylor Swift were also present at the stadium. In the 2024 election, she gave Harris her support.