Featured Image Credit: Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
Topics: Super Bowl, Travis Kelce, Donald Trump, NFL, Taylor Swift, Politics, US News
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Super Bowl, Travis Kelce, Donald Trump, NFL, Taylor Swift, Politics, US News
Fans have hit out at Travis Kelce after he told reporters it's a 'great honor' to have President Trump in attendance at Sunday's Super Bowl.
The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, no doubt hoping to secure an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl crown - which would be their fourth in six years.
The Chiefs and Eagles last competed in 2023's Super Bowl, where the former rallied for a 38-35 win.
But during a media briefing on Wednesday (February 5), Chiefs tight-end Kelce sparked confusion when he reacted to news that Donald Trump is attending the match.
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Trump is set to make history as the first ever sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl.
When asked by reporters how he feels about Trump's attendance, NFL star Kelce responded: "That’s awesome, it’s a great honour.
"No matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life.
"Having the president there, it’s the best country in the world and that’s pretty cool.”
Kelce's comments come months after his girlfriend, megastar Taylor Swift, and Trump clashed during the presidential election.
Swift made her support for Democratic Party leader Kamala Harris public knowledge on September 10, prompting Trump to say he was 'not a fan of Taylor Swift' during a Fox & Friends interview the following day.
He later took to social media platform Truth Social to vent that he 'hated' the singer.
Trump added that he liked Kelce 'even though he may be a liberal and probably can’t stand me.'
Taking to X, fans were quick to question Kelce's positive Trump comments, considering the previous fall-out.
One wrote: "Travis Kelce really saying all that like Trump didn’t run his girlfriend’s name through the mud lmao…"
A second agreed: "Travis Kelce gave a poor answer to the question abt trump being in attendance at the game.
"There were plenty of ways he could’ve avoided answering the question without saying it was an honor." They added: "Trump is causing so much harm to marginalized communities, people are allowed to be upset."
But a third defended: "No I don’t care that Travis Kelce said that it’s an honor to have the President watch him play because it’s the President and he’s a PR trained athlete for a team from MISSOURI.
"His answer was very direct, and he probably would have said the same thing if it wasn’t Trump."
Kelce's brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, confirmed Swift would also be cheering on the Chiefs at Sunday's Super Bowl.
Elsewhere, Trump has praised Kelce’s team-mate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who also welcomed the announcement that Trump will be in New Orleans.
“I didn’t see that clip but obviously it’s cool to hear that he’s seen me play football and respects the game that I play,” Mahomes said. “It’s always cool to be able to play in front of a sitting president, someone in the top position in our country.”