Jim WATSON / AFP)
Pat McAfee sat next to President Donald Trump at the Patriot Games
Pat McAfee appeared alongside President Trump at the inaugural “Patriot Games” in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, McAfee addressed the backlash on his show.
The Patriot Games — not to be confused with the 1992 Jack Ryan film starring Harrison Ford — are a part of the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 initiative, featuring one high school boy and girl from each state competing in fitness and skills challenges for $250,000 in prizes.
The event was aired on the ESPN App and will be aired on primetime on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. Not only did Pat McAfee walk out and sit with Trump at the event, but he also greeted him on the tarmac outside Air Force One. In addition to the former Indianapolis Colts punter, ESPN executives including Jimmy Pitaro and Josh D’Amaro were also in attendance.
Pat McAfee defended his appearance alongside President Trump at the Patriot Games, saying anything that encourages young people to stay active is “a huge thing I will be a part of”
On The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, McAfee addressed the criticism directly and acknowledged the political baggage that comes with any Trump association, saying that anything he’s part of will be “very loud.”
“I do appreciate how people feel towards their politics and everything else; I do respect it,” McAfee said. “But there’s some absurd things when it’s like, it’s not just me,” McAfee claimed.
“We’re trying to create something here for the next generation. We’re trying to give back from our community and our world, sports and fitness. Once this thing settles in and this Patriot Games thing goes for ten, 20 years, which I’m hoping happens no matter who’s president, I think this will be something that we look back and say, ‘This was inevitably good,’” he continued.
“There’s a lot of people upset. Any time, obviously, you have the president doing anything, especially President Trump … any time he’s a part of something, it’s going to be very loud. And there’s some people saying some really mean stuff to me. ‘Diary of a Polarizing Figure’ out Friday … it will address a lot of this, and it kind of is what my life is.”
There’s a lot of people invested in the Patriot Games..
I think it’s gonna become something magical across the country #PMSLive https://t.co/LCCLrjHj1S pic.twitter.com/NgkTXZkLW3
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 12, 2026
McAfee used his latest divisive moment to promote his upcoming country music album Diary of a Polarizing Figure, which is being unleashed into the world on Friday, August 14. McAfee says the album will “address a lot of this.”