Donald Trump became the first sitting US president in almost half a century to attend the regular season. NFL game on Sunday when he came to watch the Washington Commanders play the Detroit Lions in Landover, Maryland.
The crowd greeted him with a wave of boos and applause when he appeared on the jumbotron at the end of the first half along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump was shown again on screen at halftime as the stadium announcer introduced him.
A combination of jeers and applause continued as Trump read the oath that service members were expected to recite as part of an on-field enlistment ceremony during halftime of the game.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes the oath of enlistment into the Army with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, during an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, Sunday, November 9, 2025.
AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin
“I'm a little late,” Trump told reporters earlier as he stepped off Air Force One after landing at Joint Base Andrews after North-Western Stadium overpass during the game. Then he got into his armored car and drove to the arena.
“We're going to have a good game. Things are going very well. The country is doing well. Democrats need to open it up,” he said, meaning government shutdownthe longest in US history.
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Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was too focused on the game to notice the president had arrived: “But it's cool… You're talking about the president of the United States. It's a big deal,” he told The Associated Press.
US President Donald Trump can be seen in his suite next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) during halftime of the NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions on Sunday in Landover, Maryland.
AP Photo/Nick Wass
During an interview in the first quarter, Trump told Fox News reporters Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma about his time playing high school football at the New York Military Academy.
“I played tight end, but it wasn't quite that kind of football. It was a little easier. It wasn't as hard,” the president said.
Trump did not remain on the field for the rest of the game, during which the Washington Commanders lost to the visiting Detroit Lions by a score of 22-44.
According to official team records, there have only been two instances where a sitting president has attended a regular season NFL game.
The last time was 46 years ago, when Jimmy Carter attended Dallas Cowboys game against the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders) at RFK Stadium on October 2, 1978.
On November 16, 1969, Richard Nixon became first sitting president attend a regular season football game featuring the Washington Redskins vs. the Dallas Cowboys at RFK Stadium.
Trump became the first president to visit Super Bowl While living in the White House, he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40–22 in February.
The Washington Commanders are set to move into a new stadium in 2030, and according to a report ESPNTrump wants the $4 billion project named after him.
The team's new home is being built on the site of the old RFK Stadium, where the Commanders played from 1961 to 1996.
Construction is expected to begin in 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
