The president’s attendance will necessitate an extra layer of security, with the game taking place 39 days after an ISIS-inspired terrorist drove a truck through crowds celebrating New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.
Trump also is recording an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, which will air on the Fox network’s pregame show at 3 p.m. ahead of the 6:30 p.m. kickoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is dating pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is also expected to attend the game — potentially creating awkward dynamics after she urged voters to reject Trump in November.
It’s unclear if Trump will be rooting for either team, after he won both Missouri and swing-state Pennsylvania to help him retake the White House.
Three sitting vice presidents have attended the Super Bowl. In 1971, Spiro Agnew, a devoted Baltimore Colts fan, watched his team beat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Eleven years later, VP George H.W. Bush watched the San Francisco 49ers win their first-ever Super Bowl, 26-21, over the Cincinnati Bengals at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.
In 1994, Al Gore was at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to watch the Dallas Cowboys consign the Buffalo Bills to their fourth straight big game defeat, 30-13. Bush did attend a Super Bowl as a former president, taking part in the coin toss alongside Cowboys legend Roger Staubach prior to the New England Patriots’ upset win over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
