Donald Trump shook hands with players and local police as he became the first sitting president to walk the sidelines of a Super Bowl.
The president’s two children, Eric and Ivanka, were also with the president as he took in the sights and sounds from the New Orleans Superdome. Trump also took a photo with his grandson Theodore.
He took time out to pose for photos with family members of victims in the January 1 attack on Bourbon Street and emergency responders and waved to a crowd that cheered him on.
Trump was also spotted shaking hands with Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, one of the many three-time Super Bowl winners hoping to make it four against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The president then headed up to his seats and mingled with New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson.
A flood of government officials have been in New Orleans ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, ensuring the city will be locked down for President Donald Trump, former first lady Jill Biden and music super star Taylor Swift, all of whom will be in the stands.
Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have coordinated one of the largest security efforts in Super Bowl history, locking down the most popular parts of the city as part of their efforts.
Drones, armed guards, rooftop snipers and police dogs make up just part of the security package. There also will be a giant X-ray machine at the Superdome for vehicles to drive through in order to be scanned for explosives.
Donald Trump shook hands with players and local police as he became the first sitting president to walk the sidelines of a Super Bowl
Trump was also spotted shaking hands with Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, one of the many three-time Super Bowl winners hoping to make it four against the Philadelphia Eagles
‘The biggest show on earth is going to go off without a hitch,’ Gov. Jeff Landry said at a briefing.Â
Trump has predicted that the Chiefs will win their third straight Super Bowl on Sunday.
He praised the team’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, claiming that he had their support in his 2024 presidential bid.
‘I hate to do it,’ Trump said of guessing whether the Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles would win Super Bowl 59.
‘I guess you have to say that when a quarterback wins as much as he’s won – I have to go with Kansas City,’ the president told Fox News Bret Baier in clips played ahead of the big game. ‘At the same time, Philadelphia is fantastic, it’s going to be just a great game.’
Trump went on to praise Mahomes and his wife, who are widely popular but who are rumored to be Trump fans.
‘I’ve watched this great quarterback – who has, by the way, a phenomenal wife, okay, she’s a Trump fan,’ the president claimed. ‘She’s a mega-fan, so I happen to love her.’
‘She’s a great person,’ he said of Brittany Mahomes. ‘I watched her being interviewed, I said it’s pretty good, but she’s great and he’s great.’
The president’s two children, Eric and Ivanka (pictured), were also with the president as he took in the sights and sounds from the New Orleans Superdome
President Donald Trump with Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump before the game
U.S. President Donald Trump greets people as he attends the Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans
Mahomes, when asked about Trump attending the game on Sunday, said: ‘It’s always cool to be able to play in front of a sitting president.’Â
Meanwhile, his wife received backlash in August after she liked an Instagram picture posted by Trump and including the GOP’s 2024 platform.Â
Other reports noted that she liked a comment on one of her own posts that read ‘TRUMP-VANCE 2024.’
‘To be a hater as an adult, you have to have some deep rooted issues you refuse to heal from childhood,’ she wrote in a post responding to the backlash without directing addressing the claims of being a Trump supporter.Â
‘There’s no reason your brain is fully developed and you hate to see others doing well.’
Patrick Mahomes made clear he was not endorsing anyone in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump on Sunday will be the first sitting president to ever attend the Super Bowl. He told Fox he had no idea he was the first.
‘I’m very surprised to hear that I would have assumed many presidents came,’ Trump divulged.
President Donald Trump, right, with his grandson Theodore, walks on the field before the start of the game
President Donald Trump waves to the crowd before the game
The president then headed up to his seats and mingled with New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson
‘But I think, just the spirit of the country – the country has taken on a whole new life,’ he said. ‘I thought it would be a good thing for the country to have the President be at the game.’Â
Super Bowl 59 is a rematch of two years prior, where the Chiefs and Eagles also faced-off in the 2022 championship game.
The Chiefs won in a razor thin final of 38 to 35.
The Kansas City National Football League (NFL) team was also in the Super Bowl in last year’s 2023 championship matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs won 25-22.
The game is held this year at New Orleans Caesar’s SuperDome. It comes just one month after the city was rocked by a New Year’s Eve terrorist attack on Bourbon Street that left 15 dead – including the man who drove his truck into a crowd before opening fire.
Security was already ramped up for the Super Bowl after this attack, but now is even more prevalent considering Trump’s appearance at the game along with a slew of other lawmakers and government officials who traveled there with him on Sunday.
