Pat McAfee has broken plenty of news on his show before, but he had quite the scoop on Friday.
Ahead of the NFL’s annual Salute to Service celebration this weekend, McAfee announced live on The Pat McAfee Show that President Donald Trump will be in attendance as the Washington Commanders host the Detroit Lions. The ESPN host explained that Trump will be a guest of team owner Josh Harris and preside over the team’s halftime ceremony honoring military members and their families.
The bigger news came later in the show, when McAfee revealed the source of his information.
Talking with Nick Saban live from Lubbock, Texas, McAfee recounted the story of the Trump administration reaching out to him with the news.
“Yeah that was pretty weird,” he said. “I got a text from the White House.”
Sports are the greatest.#PMSLive https://t.co/l32zHLd32J pic.twitter.com/NPwNmsAAJo
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 7, 2025
The official White House X account reshared the news, sandwiched between posts from Trump blaming Democrats for the government shutdown and authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praising the U.S. president.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 7, 2025
While continuing the conversation about Trump’s attendance at Northwest Stadium, McAfee expressed optimism that the event could bring people together.
“I don’t know Josh Harris’s political affiliation, and I don’t really care to look into it,” McAfee said. “But I do know sports and stadiums are a place where all different backgrounds … all prices, all socioeconomic coming together just to tell the other team that they suck, it’s beautiful. Sports are the greatest.”
Given the polarizing nature of Trump’s entire political career and the frequent protests against him since he was elected a year ago, McAfee is not likely to be correct. The president has frequently attended sporting events since he resurfaced to run for a second term, prompting loud reactions from both supporters and opponents of his record.
This past August, the U.S. Tennis Association even went so far as to request that broadcasters not air the response to Trump being shown in-stadium in his hometown of Queens. ABC aired the mixed response anyway.
Sunday is sure to be no different, with a chorus of boos and cheers coming from Northwest Stadium before the Commanders face off against the Lions.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.