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CNN’s Audie Cornish called out the Patriot Games for being “overwhelmingly White” on Wednesday, taking aim at the Freedom250-sponsored event that President Donald Trump attended this week.
“The president promised the best of the best student athletes. I‘m not sure that‘s what we got,” CNN’s Audie Cornish said Wednesday during her morning show. “A CNN analysis actually found that a specific demographic of kids got a shot to compete. Of the ones who were featured in the Freedom 250 Instagram page, many attend private Christian schools. They also appear to be overwhelmingly White, and the application for the games didn‘t specify race.”
Cornish then played clips of videos also calling out the games on social media. One described it as the “dystopian Hunger Games.”
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“I don‘t want to make fun of these kids. The contestants range in age from 14 to 17, but here are the things people are raising questions about. Not selected through any qualifying events. They recorded video essays, just sort of describing why they should be included. Some students were chosen to represent states where they don‘t even live,” Cornish continued.
President Donald Trump greets winning participants on stage during the 2026 Patriot Games finals at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, on Aug. 11, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
White House spokesman Davis Ingle fired back at the criticism.
“Thanks to President Trump and the incredible efforts of the Freedom 250 organization, athletes from all across the country had the opportunity to put their talents on national display and earn life-changing scholarships that would greatly impact their futures. The inaugural Patriot Games were a resounding success, and anyone who claims they were racist or otherwise clearly suffers from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted their peanut-sized brains,” Ingle said.
The Patriot Games is a national youth athletic competition held at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, organized by Freedom250. It brought together teenage athletes ages 14 to 17, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and tribal nations to compete in sports and physical challenges as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
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The competition awarded a $250,000 scholarship prize pool to one male and one female champion. The games took place between August 9 and August 11.
Cornish asked her panel about the event and the concerns she raised. Steamboat Institute fellow Carine Hajjar, said the event came across more like a Trump rally. However, she said some of the criticism was silly.
President Donald Trump gestures next to winners as confetti falls at the 2026 Patriot Games at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, on Aug. 11, 2026. (Getty Images)
“I don’t think that the idea of having some sort of sporting event for young American athletes is that crazy, especially around the 250th anniversary. I actually think it’s a great idea. But this comes down to both I think poor execution of the event itself, and also some of the outrage around it, has been a little silly, too. I mean, at this point really, there’s plenty of criticism to be made about it, but I think that this has become sort of a farce because of both sides. One, it was poorly planned, but two, people were rooting for it to lose all along,” Hajjar said.
Cornish said the games were similar to a UFC event.
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CNN’s Audie Cornish said Wednesday that the Patriot Games were overwhelmingly White during “CNN This Morning” on August 12, 2026. (CNN/CNNThisMorning)
CNN published a report about the event on Aug. 9 which also compared the event to the Hunger Games.
“The premise sounds almost fictional: one boy and one girl from every state, territory and some tribal nations, flown to a private campus in Ohio to compete in a televised athletic contest called the Patriot Games — a Trump-backed youth competition with obstacle courses, patriotic testimonials and inevitable comparisons to The Hunger Games,” the report read.
CNN did not immediately return Digital’s request for comment.
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Cornish also said that it seemed like America250 wasn’t being celebrating, and said it was a “weird year.”
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