ESPN personality Pat McAfee joined President Donald Trump in Ohio for the Patriot Games, and no, that’s not a reference to the 1992 action movie with the same name starring Harrison Ford.
McAfee, the former NFL punter, joined Trump at the SPIRE Academy in Geneva for the high school sports competition, which will award one young woman and one young man a scholarship fund, and the sports talk host even greeted POTUS on the tarmac in Cleveland.
Video posted to social media by a White House-run account showed the moment Trump reached the bottom of the stairs as he deplaned Air Force One and shook hands with McAfee, who was wearing a backward hat.
The two stood briefly for pictures before they walked over to an awaiting Marine One.
Another video shared by the same account showed McAfee sitting next to Trump at the event.
Front Office Sports reported that McAfee was invited to the Patriot Games as a guest of Trump.
ESPN has aired the Patriot Games on its app this week and it will air a one-hour prime time special on its linear TV network on Thursday.
McAfee discussed the games on his eponymous show on Tuesday, saying he would be interested in helping the event grow.
“We have no idea what’s going on over there, certainly something we would be interested in though,” McAfee said. “Would certainly like to help this continue.”
The event’s website has billed it as one that “will feature a series of athletic challenges designed to test strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance, including a Presidential Fitness Test, a military-inspired boot camp circuit, an obstacle course, and team competitions such as Kickball, Dodgeball, Tug of War, and Victory Hoops.”
McAfee later posted on X about his presence at the event, saying he was “proud” of supporting it.
“Had a BLAST celebrating high schoolers from across the country with the Heads of Disney, ABC, ESPN, and… The United States Of America I’m proud of all parties getting behind this important initiative to keep future generations excited about remaining active,” McAfee wrote while also sharing two selfies, one of which included Trump.
“Cheers to the incredible contestants and to next year’s Patriot Games.”
McAfee has had several interactions with the president, including interviewing him on his show on ESPN on Veterans Day last year and having an in-person visit with Trump during the college football national championship game.
