Published On: Sat, Dec 14th, 2024
World | By

President-elect Trump arrives at Army-Navy game to ‘USA’ chants, salutes during national anthem

Roughly a month ahead of his second inauguration, President-elect Trump is taking in some college football.

The soon-to-be 47th president arrived at the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game Saturday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, less than 15 miles from the White House.

Trump was joined in a suite by his running mate, Vice President-elect JD Vance; Speaker of the House Mike Johnson; and Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted of charges in the death of Jordan Neely.

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During the national anthem, Trump saluted along with the service members in attendance.

Trump attended the game throughout his presidency, first attending in 2016 shortly after winning that year’s election. He also was at the game during each year of his presidency, including in 2020 at West Point. 

Saturday marked his sixth time at the game since 2016 and his first since 2020. Throughout his presidency, he would be on the field for pregame events, including the coin toss.

For the first time, both programs entered the game with a combined 19 wins (Army is 11-1, while Navy is 8-3). 

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With Army playing in the American Athletic Conference this season, both teams have spent time in the Top 25. This will be their first meeting this season and will be a non-conference game. 

Outside of bragging rights for their respective military academies, this year’s game marks the first time since 2017 the winner will have a chance to secure the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, thanks to wins by Army and Navy over Air Force this season. It also marks the first time since 2017 that both teams enter the matchup having clinched spots in bowl games. 

Army won its first conference title earlier this month after a win over Tulane in the AAC championship game to improve to 11-1. But that accomplishment pales in comparison to what’s at stake Saturday. 

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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