President Donald Trump made a rare appearance in the broadcast booth during the Washington Commanders-Detroit Lions game, during which he talked military recruitment and football and even tried his hand at some play-by-play announcing.
Trump oddly made history on Sunday when he became the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NFL regular-season game since 1978. He also flew to the game on Air Force One, which conducted a flyover of Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
But his time at the crucial game for the struggling Commanders didn’t stop there. After taking part in a halftime ceremony honoring the U.S. military ahead of Veterans Day, Trump appeared alongside NFL announcers Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma for an interview in the announcers’ booth, where he first touted the military’s recruitment as “record-setting.”
He also recalled his brief stint as a football player at the New York Military Academy, where he played tight end but said he never scored a touchdown.
“I mean it was not quite football like this. … We had a quarterback who didn’t have a very strong arm. I would say 10 yards was a long pass,” Trump said.
The president then weighed in on his favorite team, sticking to his New York routes by saying he likes both the Jets and Giants. He also heaped praise on Jets legend Joe Namath, as well as ex-New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
“Drew Brees, he threw a ball you could catch,” Trump said. “I would have liked him as a quarterback.”
While the Commanders were in the red zone early in the third quarter, Trump briefly took over the announcing.
“Second and 7. Let’s see what happens. Woah, all right. Not bad,” Trump said during a three-yard run by the Commanders running back.
At the end of the interview, Trump shook hands with Albert and Vilma before saying, “I’d love to have your job some day.”
Trump’s appearance at the game comes shortly after a report that the White House is in talks with the Commanders ownership group for the team’s new stadium in Washington, D.C., to be named after the president.
AIR FORCE ONE CONDUCTS FLYOVER OF COMMANDERS-LIONS GAME AS TRUMP MAKES HISTORY
Trump did not address the speculation in the booth, though he did say he’s “involved in” the 65,000-seat stadium’s construction.
“We’re getting all the approvals and everything else. And you have a wonderful owner, Josh and his group, and you’re going to see some very good things,” he said.
