Donald Trump left the Super Bowl early after his pre-game prediction of a victory for the Kansas City Chiefs fell surprisingly short.
The president was pictured getting back onboard Air Force One more than an hour before the conclusion of the Big Game, which ended in the Philadelphia Eagles triumphing with a decisive 40-22 win.
A White House spokesperson told The Independent that Trump had always planned to leave the event early and provided a copy of his schedule, which had him due to leave the Caesars Superdome at 8:05 p.m.
Speculation around who Trump – who became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl – would be supporting had swirled prior to the game. The New York-raised Republican has never publicly expressed an allegiance to any particular team and has made appearances at numerous sporting events previously.
In a pre-game interview with Fox, the president said he would “hate” to choose a side and that he was looking forward to watching “a great game.” However, he did predict a Chiefs win after praising quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany.
“I hate to do it but.. I watched this great quarterback who has a phenomenal wife. She’s a MAGA fan… she’s a great person. I guess you have to say that when a quarterback wins as much as he’s won, I’d have to go with Kansas City,” he said.
“At the same time, Philadelphia has a fantastic [team] it’s going to be a great game.”
Shortly before pictures of his early departure emerged, Trump was posting on his social media platform Truth Social – not about football, but about ordering the U.S Treasury to print new pennies.
Even prior to his ultimately incorrect prediction, Trump had looked more likely to favor the Chiefs, having congratulated the team when they reached the Super Bowl, writing: “What a GREAT Team, Coach, Quarterback, and virtually everything else, including those fantastic FANS, that voted for me (MAGA!) in record numbers.”
He did not show the same courtesy to the Eagles.
When the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, during Trump’s first term, multiple members of the team chose not to attend the invitation to the White House which is extended to all Super Bowl champions.
Players including Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long were among those who declined the offer after voicing support for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who in 2016 began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
The perceived slight led to Trump rescinding the offer to the whole team.
As well as Mahomes, Trump has previously praised Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce – after he said he considered it “a great honor” that the president would be in attendance.
“I think, you know, no matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there, you know, it’s the best country in the world. So, that’d be pretty cool,” Kelce said.
However, while the president has lavished praise on both men, and Mahomes’ wife, he is not quite so fond of Kelce’s partner.
“I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” the president fumed on Truth Social, shortly after the popstar publicly endorsed his then-rival Kamala Harris for president in September. Trump also spoke on Fox and Friends to say that he was “not a fan” of the singer.
“It was just a question of time... But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace,” he said.
