Trump spent Saturday at Neyland Stadium watching No. 1 Texas take on No. 14 Tennessee from a suite with Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. Air Force One did a flyover, the whole nine. When his face landed on the jumbotron, the crowd response was mixed: plenty of cheers, plus boos you could hear through the broadcast. ESPN’s Chris Fowler initially described the noise as“incredibly static-y.”
Hours later, Trump posted two clips that were meant to show a warm reception. One of them features a group of Black students in the front row who look entirely unmoved by the moment. It’s the third time this year a stadium reception has turned into a back-and-forth, following similar disputes at a Commanders game and a Knicks game. This time there was an extra wrinkle: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had raised concerns that Trump’s movements could interfere with coaches’headset communications. Trump left by halftime.
So the debate is about a crowd reaction he only stuck around half of the game to hear. What do you think: did the clips help his case or hurt it?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.