ESPN host Pat McAfee greeted President Trump on the tarmac Tuesday before sitting with him during the 2026 Patriot Games.
The association naturally angered the intolerant left, including one X user whose response has since gone viral.
“In case you were wondering if Pat McAfee calls us the N word behind our backs when we’re not around, here’s your answer. @DesmondHoward @ESPNPR,” posted @financejonE above a clip of McAfee sitting with Trump.
McAfee responded by saying he would look into suing the user.
“This is grotesque … and potentially lawsuit worthy … we’ll have the lawyers look into that next week after The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure drops FRIDAY,” McAfee said in a quote post.
Grotesque, indeed.
President Donald Trump, flanked by sports analyst Pat McAfee and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, attends the 2026 Patriot Games finals at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, on Aug. 11, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
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The idea that McAfee uses the N-word because he sat with the president is nonsensical. But it’s also the type of behavior that has come to define partisan actors of a certain ilk.
And it’s not just trolls. Media figures have also recklessly labeled people racist simply for viewing Trump as a decent person.
In 2020, former ESPN host Jemele Hill called all Trump voters, wait for it, “racist.”
“If you vote for Donald Trump, you are a racist. You have no wiggle room,” Hill posted on X.
So good on McAfee for calling this person out. Accusations of racism should not be thrown around this loosely or baselessly.
Sports analyst Pat McAfee walks to board Marine One with President Donald Trump as Trump arrives at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Aug. 11, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. Trump is traveling to Ohio to attend the 2026 Patriot Games. (Getty Images)
Whether McAfee could win a lawsuit is another question. Libel laws make it difficult for public figures to prevail, especially against anonymous accounts.
Still, legal action could potentially identify the user and put the person under immense financial pressure. And he should pursue it. Internet users should not be able to claim someone uses a racial slur without evidence.
Further, nothing McAfee did at the Patriot Games was political. He didn’t endorse Trump’s policies or attack Trump’s political opponents. McAfee has never publicly stated where he aligns politically.
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His friendliness with Trump isn’t much of a clue, either.
Greeting, sitting with, or interviewing the sitting president is not a political statement. It’s a privilege.
U.S. President Donald Trump sits next to sports analyst Pat McAfee as he attends the 2026 Patriot Games at SPIRE Academy on Aug. 11, 2026, in Geneva, Ohio. The Patriot Games is a youth athletics competition featuring 14-17 year-old students from across the country celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. (Getty Images)
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Put simply, bloggers comparing this to ESPN personalities protesting abortion laws, calling Trump a “white supremacist,” or describing Republican voters as unintelligent are engaging in bad-faith dialogue.
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Those are explicit political statements. Sitting next to the president at an event is not.
We appreciate that McAfee doesn’t allow the hall monitors of sports media to dictate who he associates with or how he behaves. He plays by his own rules. He caters to his audience, not his critics.
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That is why he’s arguably the biggest star in sports media today.
