President Donald Trump was greeted by a thunderous round of applause and cheers on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, during the college football match-up between rival SEC teams LSU and Alabama.
“I love Alabama,” Trump said Friday. “I’m going to go watch a very good football game, which is tomorrow with LSU, and it’s going to be great.”
WATCH:
President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania at the #LSUvsBAMA game!🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/eI7vzbJcsL
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸 (@Scavino45) November 9, 2019
“Ahead of an expected visit from President Donald Trump, Alabama’s Student Government Association sent a letter to students warning that they could lose their block seating for the rest of the season if they ‘engage in disruptive behavior’ during the LSU game,” The Tennessean reported. “Jason Rothfarb, the SGA’s vice president of student affairs, sent out a letter citing the increased security at Saturday’s game between the second-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 1 LSU. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the game, and Alabama is warning fans to arrive early and expect longer waits getting into Bryant-Denny Stadium.”
The letter stated in part: “Any organizations that engage in disruptive behavior during the game will be removed from block seating instantly for the remainder of the season.”
Multiple reporters noted that there were repeated chants of “USA!” after the crowd saw the president.
WATCH:
Donald Trump and Melania in suite at 50 yard line behind LSU bench. Crowd cheers and chants USA. pic.twitter.com/1HAVzWHZ6s
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 9, 2019
Another video from a different angle showed how the crowd reacted once the president arrived at his box suite to watch the game.
WATCH:
@POTUS has arrived at @BryantDenny_UA ! @WBRCnews #LSUvsBAMA #RollTide pic.twitter.com/decyj3GdNI
— ChristinaWBRC (@ChristinaWBRC) November 9, 2019
NewsBusters’ Vice President Dan Gainor tweeted, “Welcome to real America!!!”
Welcome to real America!!! https://t.co/Y4oSkEY9WA
— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) November 9, 2019
The response that Trump got from the crowd is very different than the response he got while attending a Washington Nationals baseball game late last month, where the fans in the most Democrat part of the country booed him loudly on the same day that he announced that a military operation that he approved resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“His reception at the showdown between LSU and Alabama contrasted with the scene last month at Game 5 of the World Series in Washington, where was booed, and the mixed response to his appearance at UFC 244 in New York a week ago,” ESPN reported. “Trump, sitting one tier above the field, waved as fans turned around to look up at the president. He smiled, gave a thumbs-up a few times and threw a couple of fist bumps into the air as the Alabama fans waved red and white pompoms in response. First lady Melania Trump got an equally enthusiastic welcome.”
Scotty Amos from Bossier City, Louisiana, told The Shreveport Times, “It’s a big game. He’s a sports fan. Why would he not come? The fans are excited. They are his people. Just imagine being a 19-year-old and getting to play in this game and the leader of the free world is here to watch you play. He wants to be here — to experience a big-time college game like this.”
When news broke that Trump was attending the game, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow said, “You know, regardless of your political views, that’s pretty cool having the president at the game. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, the president at the game’s pretty cool.”