President Donald Trump’s critics have a new theory, based on the president’s appearance at the Alabama-Louisiana State University game on Saturday, where LSU snapped Alabama’s home-game winning streak: the president is cursed and he’s doomed to lose the 2020 election.
Alabama fans got the ball rolling on Saturday, blaming the president for “cursing” the Crimson Tide, which lost at home, 46-41, for the first time in 31 home games.
Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who played for Alabama before getting drafted into the National Football League, was among the first to blame Trump for Alabama’s tragic loss, claiming that Trump was the x-factor that prevented Alabama from besting its southern rival.
“I’m blaming Trump for this one. Soon as they showed him at game we had that bad swacky!!” Ingram tweeted.
“Trump was in attendance for Saturday’s game — his third trip to a sporting event in as many weeks — and was greeted with a mostly positive reception in Alabama after getting loudly booed at the World Series and UFC 244,” USA Today reported, though Trump contends his reception at the UFC tournament was mixed. “Immediately after Trump was introduced in Tuscaloosa, the game went off the rails for Alabama with Tua Tagovailoa fumbling in the red zone.”
Trump, of course, appeared alongside First Lady Melania Trump at the game, and he did receive “loud applause, cheering and “USA” chants from supporters at Bryant-Denny Stadium as he appeared in his box suite on Saturday during the college football match,” according to Newsweek, which was quick to point out that Trump did receive some boos, and that there was a small protest outside the stadium featuring a “Baby Trump” balloon.
Some Trump-critical Alabama fans were quick to attribute the loss to the “Trump curse,” tweeting that “everything Trump touches dies,” alongside photos of a handful of Trump protesters in the mostly friendly Alabama crowd.
#TrumpCurse is for real . pic.twitter.com/9vSWiVQayz
— Joseph O'Holleran (@K_JOE_) November 10, 2019
Some of the president’s leftist critics — even the ones that don’t typically indicate they are fans of college football — were quick to seize on the thought of a “Trump curse,” and suggested that Alabama’s shock loss was a “sign” that portends a similar outcome for Trump in the 2020 presidential elections.
A top aide to former, failed presidential contender Hillary Clinton was the first to mention the “sign” on Twitter Saturday, according to the Washington Examiner, tweeting that “the Trumps were announced during the first time out. Alabama fumbled in the red zone right after.”
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted with cheers and chants of “USA” and “Trump 2020” here in Tuscaloosa at #AlabamaVsLSU.
The Trumps were announced during the first timeout. Alabama fumbled in the red zone right after. pic.twitter.com/cqBFegmYs0
— Dan Merica (@merica) November 9, 2019
Center for American Progress leader and longtime Hillary Clinton policy aide, Neera Tanden, also weighed in, calling the loss “a sign.”
“The Nationals fans boo Trump and win the World Series. Alabama fans cheer Trump and lose the first home game in 31 games,” Tanden tweeted. “It’s a sign.”
The Nationals fans boo Trump and win the World Series. Alabama fans cheer Trump and lose the first home game in 31 games.
It’s a sign.
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 10, 2019
The president’s critics may not want to read too much into the theory, especially since it’s not the first time a president has been unlucky in predicting sports outcomes but lucky at the ballot box. Former President Barack Obama is well known for “cursing” sports teams, especially those competing to win the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.
Last June, the Washington Free Beacon jokingly pointed out that Obama extended his “curse” to his post-presidency, dooming Duke’s star forward Zion Williamson to a freak ankle injury, and, later, the Toronto Raptors to a devastating loss.
It’s also worth noting that Trump probably wasn’t at the Alabama-LSU game because he’s a fan of either team. The president seems to have worked hard to find a sporting event where he would not be met with either a negative or mixed review.