The Super Bowl debuted in January 1967, and in the 58 years since, no sitting president has ever attended—until now. According to CBS News, Donald Trump is expected to be at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans this Sunday.
Since the first Super Bowl, 11 presidents have held office, but none have attended the game. Trump will not only be present to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles, but he will also participate in a pre-recorded interview with Fox, set to air during the 3 p.m. ET hour on Super Bowl Sunday.
While no sitting president has ever attended the Super Bowl, there have been four instances where a sitting vice president was present. The most recent was in February 2017, when Mike Pence attended Super Bowl LI in Houston, witnessing the Patriots’ 34-28 victory over the Falcons. One of the most memorable vice-presidential appearances occurred in January 1982 when then-VP George H.W. Bush attended the Bengals-49ers matchup in Detroit. His motorcade caused significant traffic delays, nearly making a 49ers team bus late—the team arrived just 20 minutes before warmups.
This year’s Super Bowl was already going to have heightened security with the event coming less than six weeks after a Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that left 14 dead. With Trump now attending, security will likely be amped up.
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