Pat McAfee met President Donald Trump in Ohio this week at the Patriot Games, a high school sports event held at SPIRE Academy in Geneva that is set to award scholarship money to one young woman and one young man. The ESPN personality greeted Trump on the tarmac in Cleveland before the two headed to the event together.
Video posted by a White House-run social media account showed Trump coming down the stairs from Air Force One and shaking hands with McAfee, who wore a backward hat. The pair paused for photos before moving on to Marine One. Another clip from the same account showed McAfee seated next to Trump at the event. Front Office Sports reported that McAfee was there as Trump’s guest.
The Patriot Games are being carried by ESPN on its app this week, and the network will air a one-hour prime-time special on Thursday. The event’s website describes the competition as a series of athletic challenges built around strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance. Its lineup includes a Presidential Fitness Test, a military-style boot camp circuit, an obstacle course, and team events such as kickball, dodgeball, tug of war, and Victory Hoops.
McAfee addressed the event on his show Tuesday and said he would be interested in helping it grow. “We have no idea what’s going on over there, certainly something we would be interested in though,” he said. “Would certainly like to help this continue.” Later, he posted on X that he was “proud” to support the Patriot Games. He wrote that he had “a BLAST” celebrating high schoolers from across the country with the heads of Disney, ABC, ESPN, and “The United States Of America,” and said he was proud of everyone backing the initiative.
