Donald Trump was set to attend this weekend’s showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions, but it sounds like he has changed his mind and will not attend, after all.
According to a report from Joe Lister of Onward State, Donald Trump is no longer expected to attend Saturday’s Big Ten showdown between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.
“Donald Trump is no longer set to attend Penn State football’s Saturday matchup against Ohio State, a university spokesperson told Onward State,” Lister wrote on Wednesday.
“Reports of Trump’s attendance first came out on Thursday, before Penn State confirmed that a private citizen invited the former president to watch the game with them.”
It’s not clear why Trump has decided not to attend this weekend’s game since sporting events has been a vital part of Trump’s campaign with one prominent strategist even declaring his appearances at sporting events as a “winning strategy” for him in the 2024 election.
“It’s a great visibility thing,” Republican strategist Larry Shaheen said earlier this year of Trump’s decision to attend sporting events, saying that the average fan in the stands “fits his base.”
“With all his flaws and character issues, it’s funny because he has been a hero of the working man over the course of the last several years,” Shaheen said according to The Charlotte Observer. “It’s a winning strategy.”
Trump attended last months game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide. He also attended last year’s game between Clemson and South Carolina, was in attendance for the Iowa vs. Iowa State showdown last year, and also attended the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race in Charlotte earlier this year.
Political scientist Eric Heberlig pointed out that appearances like this also help Trump reach audiences that otherwise may not have been exposed to him.
“The bulk of the audience there isn’t there to see him. They’re there for the event. So it allows him to reach a broader audience than he otherwise would,” Heberlig said.
But even though it’s been a key part of his strategy so far, it sounds like he’ll be skipping this game.
