President Donald Trump attended the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia on Saturday and celebrated with Wyatt Hendrickson, who upset Gable Steveson for the NCAA heavyweight title. Hendrickson rallied with a late takedown to beat Steveson, an Olympic champion.
Hendrickson, who attended the Air Force Academy for four years, wrapped himself in a flag after his victory and went over to shake Trump’s hand.
‘I put on a show for him, I wanted that national title,’ Hendrickson said.
Trump arrived at the NCAA meet alongside Outkick media founder Clay Travis. Travis’ presence on Air Force One was part of a new venture by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to give media outlets opportunities that haven’t been available during prior administrations.
The 47th President of the United States has made appearances at numerous sporting events during the first few months of his term. In early February, he became the first sitting President to attend the Super Bowl. A week later, he was at the Daytona 500 and even took a few laps around Daytona International Speedway and operated as the pace car ahead of the race.
Trump’s attendance at the national wrestling championships was to be expected, though. Not only did Trump attend the championships in 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but much of his presidential campaign had been about keeping transgender women out of female sports, specifically wrestling. Just weeks ago, the NCAA passed an official ban preventing transgender women from competing in sports.
Trump’s history with wrestling
Trump has long been a fan of wrestling and combat sports in general. He routinely attends UFC fights and has a well-known professional relationship with UFC CEO Dana White. White even made a speech at Trump’s presidential victory rally.
Trump has participated in WWE events as well, even headlining WrestleMania 23 back in 2007. In 2009, he was also part of a storyline that saw him buy WWE Raw from Vince McMahon before selling it back shortly after. Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
Furthermore, Trump has offered congratulations to collegiate wrestling programs in the past. Just a month before election day 2024, Trump brought the national champion Penn State wrestling team on stage at a rally in Pennsylvania.