President Donald Trump’s posse at Sunday’s Super Bowl game in New Orleans included Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump and her son.
But as the other members of the first family watched the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles vie for the championship, first lady Melania Trump was nowhere to be found.
Melania Trump has made few public appearances since Trump lost to former President Joe Biden in 2020 and was rarely present during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
In a statement Sunday, Trump said that the first lady “joins me in sending our best wishes for a great Super Bowl Sunday.”
The president, who has indicated he believes the Chiefs will win, reportedly attended as a guest of Saints owner Gayle Benson.
US President Donald Trump stands as US singer-songwriter Jon Baptiste performs the National Anthem ahead of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 9, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images
His appearance at the game marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has attended the annual NFL championship, leading to increased security measures, according to the Secret Service.
“Extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Tuesday.
Fox News’ Bret Baier interviewed Trump in a pre-recorded segment that aired before the start of the game. The interview, which is typically conducted by the channel hosting the game, has become somewhat of a standard practice for U.S. presidents, but Trump skipped the opportunity in 2018 during his first administration. Similarly, former President Joe Biden skipped the interview in 2023 and 2024.
Trump has complimented Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes multiple times, including in his interview with Baier.
“Obviously, it’s cool to hear that he’s seen me play football and respects the game that I play,” Mahomes told reporters Wednesday.
He added: “It’s always cool to be able to play in front of a sitting president, someone that is at the top position in our country.”
Trump also received a warm welcome from Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is dating Taylor Swift, the pop star Trump said he hates.
“It’s a great honor,” Kelce told reporters on Wednesday. “No matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there — it’s the best country in the world — and that’s pretty cool.”
Trump isn’t the only public figure with ties to politics who showed up to the game. Former first lady Jill Biden, a known Eagles fan, also joined with her grandson Hunter. Former President Joe Biden did not attend.
Trump’s attendance at the big game follows his decision to attend the Army-Navy football game in December, accompanied by then-Vice President-elect JD Vance, now-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Daniel Penny, who put a homeless Black man in a chokehold on the New York City subway in 2023. (Penny was acquitted of killing the man, Jordan Neely, in 2024.)
HuffPost reached out to the White House but did not immediately hear back.
