ATLANTA (AP) – President Donald Trump took the field Monday before Alabama and Georgia faced off in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Tens of thousands of fans filling the $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta greeted Trump with cheers and a smattering of boos as ROTC members escorted him onto the field for the national anthem. The president stood with his hand over his heart and an American flag pin on his lapel, and sang a few words as Georgia’s Zac Brown Band and a gospel choir performed the anthem.
Trump has criticized professional football players who kneel during the anthem to protest racial injustice, as well as the NFL itself for allowing it.
President Donald Trump watches the NCAA National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta, between Alabama and Georgia. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“We want our flag respected,” Trump said earlier Monday during a speech in Nashville, Tennessee, “and we want our national anthem respected also.”
The college teams remained in their locker rooms during the anthem.
The president watched the game from a private box overlooking the Alabama sideline flanked by ROTC students. The Tuscaloosa News reported that he was scheduled to appear on the Alabama radio broadcast during the game.
ESPN, which televised the game, said Sunday that a game-time interview with Trump was unlikely. Stephanie Druley, ESPN senior vice president for events and studio programs, said the network had been in contact with the White House and she did not “get the sense” that an interview would be arranged.
Trump criticized ESPN in October after “SportsCenter” host Jemelle Hill tweeted that he was a “white supremacist.”
A network will often seek to interview the president when he attends a game it is televising.
President Donald Trump stands on the field for the National Anthem before the start of the NCAA National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium between Georgia and Alabama, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Donald Trump accompanied by Dr. Alveda King, niece of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., right, arrives at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, to attend the NCAA National Championship game. King was on board for a bill signing creating a national historic park for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
A protester speaks out as others take a knee in protest of President Donald Trump, outside of CNN Headquarters, before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Alabama and Georgia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta. Trump took to the field before the game as ROTC members escorted him onto the field for the national anthem. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)
People hold signs in protest of President Donald Trump, outside of CNN Headquarters, before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Alabama and Georgia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta. ROTC members escorted Trump onto the field before the game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the national anthem. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)
President Donald Trump smiles while watching the NCAA National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta, between Alabama and Georgia. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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