Trump, 79, Awkwardly Tries to Commentate Football Game

Donald Trump has taken a break from playing golf during the government shutdown to try his hand at an unexpected new sporting role.

Fresh from being resoundingly booed at the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions game at Northwest Stadium in Maryland on Sunday, the president surfaced in the safety of the Fox NFL commentary box.

Introduced by hosts Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma, Trump talked up the halftime ceremony at the game to honor the military on Veteran’s Day weekend.

“We just swore in a tremendous group of young people,” Trump said, before making sure he found time to attack former President Joe Biden. “Our recruitment’s been record-setting since a year ago, it was a disaster for the country, and now it’s record-setting so this was an honor to be here.”

FROM THE OVAL TO THE BROADCAST BOOTH
President Trump joins the broadcast booth during the Lions-Commanders NFL Game honoring veterans. 🇺🇸🏈 pic.twitter.com/DvgVVlmvu3

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 9, 2025

While in the commentary box, Albert asked Trump if he would like to call the play as the game resumed.

“I would like to do that if you’d like me to,” Trump, 79, said, “but I will say that your second string, your back-up quarterback is a good quarterback and he’s had some very good games for you. And your first string quarterback back has the potential I think to be a great quarter back, he’s got to stop the injuries somehow.”

As the game continued, Trump added notes like “not bad,” and “good runner”, and “they have to get a touch down, forget about the play.”

President Donald Trump, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reads the oath for people reenlisting to the U.S. army as he attends the NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions. Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

Albert and Vilma both joked that Trump was doing their jobs for them.

MAGA were quick to post Trump’s commentary box appearance as they continue to distract from the government shutdown impacting everyday Americans.

White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung posted a photo of Trump with the caption “POTUS doing some @NFL play-by-play at the Lions/Commanders game.”

Trump’s Communication Advisor Margo Martin posted a video with the caption “@realDonaldTrump talks with Fox Sports Broadcasters at the Washington Commanders game.”

The White House’s RapidResponse47 account posted that Trump was doing “a little on-air play-by-play” during the game.

.@POTUS does a little on-air play-by-play during the @Commanders–@Lions game 🤣 pic.twitter.com/P9LLeLQNLZ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 9, 2025

Trump was also asked what he enjoy about sports, noting “I just love it. It’s a microcosm of life… you got to get through the problems to hit the triumphs, and you can never quit — you can never give up.”

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