‘You Hate The Troops’: Pat McAfee Claps Back At Haters After Trump Interview

President Donald Trump called into ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday for a special Veterans Day program, and of course, the libs are mad.

Hundreds of negative and hateful comments toward President Trump flooded McAfee’s social media platforms.

“There are people certainly that are not happy that that happened,” McAfee said to open Wednesday’s show. “If you’re against what happened yesterday, I’d like to say you hate the troops. You should go ahead and swallow that, and you can take that to where you want to go.”

McAfee said he would welcome any president to be a guest on his Veterans Day show. The show came together in a matter of days after it was given the green light to broadcast from the military base in front of dozens of Marines.

“It’s Veterans Day. He’s the Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, if we have the opportunity to talk to him, we’re going to. And he is hilarious,” McAfee said.

.@PatMcAfeeShow on interviewing @POTUS: “It’s Veterans Day. He’s the Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, if we have the opportunity to talk to him, we’re going to. And he is hilarious.”

✅ TRUE! pic.twitter.com/HH5Lb6zIJ1

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 11, 2025

“We were celebrating the hell out of Veterans Day,” the ESPN host added.

The patriotic show received an outpouring of positive feedback from fans who considered it one of McAfee’s best shows ever. The hours-long show featured videos honoring veterans from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and UFC President Dana White.

McAfee is not one to let negative comments get in his way. The ESPN host quickly addressed the haters live on Tuesday after Trump hung up the phone.

“For the immediate people who are mad, it’s the President of the United States. It’s Veterans Day. He’s the Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, if we have the opportunity to talk to him, we’re going to. And he’s hilarious.”

Trump called into the show while it was broadcasting live from Parris Island, the site of Marine Corps recruit training, and discussed various sports topics while also paying tribute to veterans.

“To me, it means taking care of the veterans because they’ve taken care of us,” Trump said.

To McAfee’s point about Trump being hilarious, the president made the show hosts laugh throughout the interview, especially when talking about the new NFL kickoff rule, referring to it as “unromantic.”

“I hate the kickoff, I think it’s so terrible. I think it’s so demeaning. The pageantry of the game is so badly hurt,” Trump said.

“Come on, Mr. President,” McAfee joked back.

While talking about the NFL, Trump first called Washington’s team by their relatively new name, the Washington Commanders, before briefly referring to the team by their former name, the Redskins.

Washington retired the Redskins name in 2020, during Trump’s first term, and officially changed its name to Commanders in 2022.

“What happened to the Redskins, by the way?” Trump asked with a hint of sarcasm. McAfee and his friends couldn’t help but snicker at that comment.

Libs, of course, were triggered by the playful banter between McAfee and Trump.

“You guys have Cheeto dust around your hands and lips. Wipe it off and get back … to football,” one viewer commented.

Another wrote on X, “McAfee should be fired immediately!”

McAfee showed no regret with his decision, calling Trump a legit sports fan.

“Listening to him talk about sports is cool,” the host said.

And if you talk to those close to Trump, they will tell you he always wants to talk ball.

Trump became the first sitting president to go to an NFL regular-season game since President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

During the Lions vs Commanders game on Sunday, Trump swore in new military enlistees during the “Salute to Service” halftime ceremony. He also spent eight minutes in the broadcast booth with Fox’s Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma. The trio discussed Trump’s high school football career at New York Military Academy. The President said he was a tight end.

“But it was not quite football like this,” Trump said. “It was a little bit easier. It wasn’t so tough.”

McAfee broke the news that Trump would attend Sunday’s game live on Friday’s show.

McAfee said on Tuesday’s show that after Trump’s interview, he had reached out to former President Barack Obama and his team to be a guest on the show as well. Obama could not, due to scheduling conflicts.