After attending two games in the 2024 NFL season and one in the 2025 season, US President Donald Trump was reportedly set to continue the streak by attending the Week 6 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Florida on Sunday. But the life of that report lasted just four hours.
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On Tuesday, CNN’s Kristen Holmes took to X and announced that, according to two sources familiar with the plan, the POTUS “is expected” to watch the Bucs vs. Steelers game at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium. However, just four hours later, Holmes shared another X post, revealing that Trump’s trip to Florida was no longer on the cards.
“Good news for the many people who hated this news— after we reported it, I am told they pulled down the trip,” Holmes shared on X. “So… hope you kept your tickets!”
While the reason for Trump’s reported cancellation of his trip to the game is unknown, it saves fans a logistical headache. According to Mike Asti of Heavy, basketball fans had to reach Madison Square Garden three hours ahead of schedule just because Trump was appearing to watch Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals. A similar issue could have popped up if the POTUS had appeared for the Week 6 game.
However, logistics aside, Trump has a pretty close connection with the Steelers. In the last two years, he attended one Steelers game (against the New York Jets on Oct. 20, 2024, at Acrisure Stadium). He was a guest of a Pittsburgh suiteholder back then.
Trump somewhat strengthened his relationship with the Steelers last year in May by becoming an informal member of the team. During a speech at the U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, quarterback Mason Rudolph, safety Miles Killebrew, and former running back Rocky Bleier joined the POTUS on stage and presented him with a custom No. 47 Steelers jersey.
“I have the honor of making you an honorary Pittsburgh Steeler and would like to present to you your jersey as—with the number 47, as the 47th President of the United States, a number that hangs in the National Football League Hall of Fame, I’d like to present to this—to a Hall-of-Fame President. Please accept this,” said Bleier as he presented Trump with the jersey.
Of course, social media boomed with criticism around the action. But the Steelers didn’t take it personally. In an email to fans, the organization highlighted that “our alumni and current players make their own individual decisions that reflect their views, and they do not necessarily represent the view of the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your passion and your continued support of the team.”
Meanwhile, Rudolph had a more straightforward response for the public.
“There’s backlash every day. You look on social media, there’s constant… That’s the nature of social media,” Rudolph said during a media interaction after a team workout. “That’s the nature of why America is so great. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Speech is free. Par for the course.”
While Trump’s connection with the Pittsburgh Steelers seems to be decent, they weren’t on his list of potential winners of the next Super Bowl.
President Donald Trump’s favorites for the 2026 NFL season
During an interview with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge on August 11, Donald Trump revealed the teams he’s keeping an eye on to win this season.
“I think New England looks good,” said Trump. “I think the Giants, I like their quarterback a lot. I think that, they say the LA Rams are looking very strong. But I better not get into this too much; I’m going to get myself in trouble if I do. But I think you have a lot of good teams, a lot of great teams, and we’ll see how it turns out.”
Trump’s affinity for Giants QB Jaxson Dart got stronger earlier in May after the young quarterback introduced the POTUS at a rally at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. In return, Dart took quite a bit of criticism from the public. And Trump knew it.
In a recent conversation with CBS News, Trump also brought that up, highlighting the “little heat” Dart took for that moment.
But such backlash is part and parcel of the job. The NFL players know it, and President Trump probably knows more about it.