(L-R) Donald Trump and owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft stand on the sidelines before the AFC Wild Card Playoff Game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on January 7, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Getty)
It’s well known that Donald Trump has close friendships with a number of top Patriots. So is the president going to Super Bowl 2017?
The word is no, and that comes directly from his spokeswoman to a Boston newspaper. Instead, Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate. In a taped interview with Bill O’Reilly, Trump predicted the Patriots will win the Super Bowl by 8.
However, Vice President Mike Pence will be attending:
According to the Boston Globe, though, the president’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, says Trump won’t be attending.
Trump has “no plans to attend the Super Bowl,” Hicks told the Boston Globe on Monday, January 23. NJ.com pointed out that a POTUS visit to the Super Bowl would be a security nightmare.
The New England Patriots meet the Atlanta Falcons in Houston, Texas on February 5. Of course, the mercurial Trump could have changed his mind. But so far, it’s a no go, even though Trump has publicly wished the Patriots well in past games and spoken effusively of his friendships with Quarterback Tom Brady, owner Robert Kraft (who went to the inauguration), and coach Bill Belichick. He’s been seen at Patriots’ games in the past and photographed on the sidelines several times, sometimes with Melania:
Trump stands on the sidelines as of the New England Patriots and the New York Jets warm up prior to their game at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Getty)
Trump has an interview planned with Fox News talker Bill O’Reilly that is scheduled to air before the Super Bowl. However, it’s taped.
Trump also attended the Patriots’ game in 2014, and he told a New York Magazine reporter a rather odd anecdote about the experience. New York Times Magazine quoted Trump as saying, “So I go to the Patriots game last year (2014). I’m on the sidelines with Kraft…And Belichick comes over in his Patriots sweatshirt and the hoodie and the whole thing. He hugs me, and he kisses me, and he said: ‘I love you. You’re the greatest.’” And then there’s the matter of the “Make America Great Again” hat once spotted in QB Tom Brady’s locker (Brady has called Trump a friend and praised him, according to The Huffington Post).
Thus, if Trump were going to attend any Super Bowl, this would probably be it, due to his Patriots’ ties.
(L-R) Melania Trump, Donald Trump and owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft stand on the sidelines before the AFC Wild Card Playoff Game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on January 7, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Getty)
According to New York Times Magazine, “no sports team has been more closely associated with a new president or, perhaps any president, at least since Richard Nixon very publicly adopted the Washington Redskins as his own…”
Deadspin investigated the kissing anecdote and couldn’t find any photos of Trump at the 2014 game on top photo services.
Of course, now Trump is a lot more controversial, and protests are already expected to ignite against the president and his immigration ban. A #ResistHouston hashtag has been started on Twitter to mobilize anti-Trump Super Bowl protesters.
The Patriots seem to be shying away from political questions as the Super Bowl looms.
According to the New York Times, reporters asked various Super Bowl players and participants about Trump at a media Q and A event, but the NFL transcripts on the event later conspicuously didn’t mention the president. Brady, Belichick and others dodged questions about politics, the Times reported.
In 2011, NBC reported that three sitting vice presidents have attended Super Bowls: “Al Gore in 1994, George H.W. Bush in 1982 and Spiro Agnew in 1971.”
Former President George H.W. Bush is scheduled to toss the coin at Sunday’s Super Bowl with his wife, Barbara. When Bush was president, he also participated in a Super Bowl coin toss in 2002 (and Ronald Reagan participated in one by satellite). Other than that, no sitting president has attended a Super Bowl.