President Trump is attending the annual Army-Navy game, minutes after making comments on the attack that killed three Americans including two US troops in Syria.
Trump was on the field for the coin toss, and got cheers from the crowd of cadets and midshipmen when his name was announced on the PA system.
He tossed the ceremonial coin – it landed with tails up – and shook hands with some of the team captains before the game got underway.
Earlier, the president smiled and chatted from the 20 yard line while parachutists landed in the center of Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium for the 126th playing of the historic game.
Trump spoke earlier Saturday as he left the White House to fly to Baltimore’s Fort McHenry aboard Marine One.
“We will retaliate,” Trump said when asked about the ambush in Syria.
Joining the president is top military brass, including Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who has represented the US in Ukraine talks, and Navy Secretary John Phelan, as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine.
Spotted in box seats with Trump were Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), the former White House physician.
Bessent, 63, reportedly considered attending the Naval Academy as a young man but went to Yale instead because he didn’t want to lie about being gay.
At halftime, Trump kept up the tradition of crossing the field so that he could watch the game from both sides of the stadium, in an equitable gesture to both service academies.
He tossed red and white MAGA hats to Navy midshipmen while crossing over to the Navy side of the stadium, and shook hands and saluted with a number of cadets.
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