Former President Donald Trump is expected to be in attendance for the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 7 home game against the New York Jets, team sources told Steelers Now.
Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the 2024 election this November, has been campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in his race against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
His campaign is holding a rally in Latrobe on Saturday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. He also visited the Butler on Oct. 5, returning to the site of an assassination attempt this summer.
Trump has long had an interest in football. Trump repeatedly attempted to buy an NFL franchise, most recently the Buffalo Bills before they were sold to Terry Pegula in 2014. Trump attended several college football games in his time as president.
Jets owner Woody Johnson served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom under Trump.
Politics and football have been colliding in Pennsylvania all fall, as the Keystone State is considered one of the key battlegrounds in the Nov. 5 election. According to statistician Nate Silver of Silver Bulletin, Pennsylvania has a 29% chance of deciding the winner of the presidential election, with Michigan next at 17%.
Billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk, who owns Tesla, SpaceX and X, was at that event in Butler and later attended the Steelers’ Week 5 home game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been holding voter registration drives in support of Trump.
“I’ve got admiration for his business moves and I study his dad, Fred Trump,” Brown said. “I think Donald Trump is a good businessman and come from a good family and has been a good president.”
Last week, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick attended at tailgate outside Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Cleveland Browns, and appeared to make a faux pas, posting on X about hoping the “Steelers throttle the Raiders” while wearing green in Philadelphia.
Fun tailgate in Philly today 🏈
Excited to watch the Steelers throttle the Raiders! pic.twitter.com/G6RWoSVWCM
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) October 13, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris has also been campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania, though she has not made football a focus here. Harris had a campaign rally on Monday in Erie. She is expected to attend Howard’s homecoming football game against Tennessee State this week. Harris is a Howard alumna. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is running for vice president on the Democratic ticket, campaigned throughout Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, including a stop at Acrisure Stadium with former Steelers safety Will Allen.
Conservative political activist Laura Loomer first reported that Trump would be attending the game.