Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have welcomed the chance to play in front of Donald Trump when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
A White House spokesperson said on Tuesday that Trump intends to watch Sunday’s game in New Orleans, which would make him the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. He also praised Mahomes last week when asked to pick a winner for the game, saying “there’s a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner.”
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Mahomes, who is aiming to win his fourth Super Bowl with the Chiefs, was asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday.
“It’s always cool to be able to play in front of a sitting president, someone that is in the top position in our country,” he said. “I didn’t see that clip but it’s cool to hear that he’s seen me play football and respects the game that I play.”
While Mahomes declined to back a candidate in last year’s election, his mother and wife, Brittany, have both expressed support for Trump.
Kelce also said he was looking forward to Trump’s presence in New Orleans.
“That’s awesome. It’s a great honor,” he told reporters on Wednesday when asked about playing in front of Trump. “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’s comments are perhaps more surprising than those of Mahomes, given that Trump has publicly attacked the player’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift. In September, Trump wrote “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,” on social media after she backed Kamala Harris in the presidential election. She also backed Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.
Like Mahomes, Kelce did not publicly endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, although he said it had been an honor to meet Joe Biden at the White House after the Chiefs won last year’s Super Bowl.
“Anytime I get a chance to be recognized by the president of the United States and get to go with my teammates and a group of men and women that I had success with to the point we get acknowledged … I’m doing it every time no matter who’s up there at the helm,” he said on his New Heights podcast of his visit to the White House, which Mahomes also attended. “No matter what’s going on in this world, it’s just such a cool opportunity.”
