Opinion: President Trump's increased interest in public sporting events hardly a coincidence

Nancy Armour | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption This is why President Trump is attending all these sporting events SportsPulse: The connection between sports and U.S. presidents has always been strong. But as Nancy Armour puts it, President Trump's recent uptick in attending major sporting events is no coincidence.

There is nothing coincidental about President Donald Trump’s sudden interest in sports.

The clock is ticking, with the next presidential election now less than a year away. Like every president – heck, any politician – Trump needs to make himself relatable, and there are few better ways in a country that loves its sports than by attending games or participating in recreational activities.

Both of the Bushes were avid baseball fans, and George W. Bush was often photographed jogging or biking. Barack Obama played pickup basketball, and filled out brackets for the NCAA tournaments. Trump plays golf – lots of golf – but that doesn’t necessarily qualify as relatable.

So we saw Trump at a World Series game two weeks ago and at a UFC fight last weekend. On Saturday, he’s expected to attend LSU-Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“Now that his election campaign is in full gear, he needs to use every opportunity he can to show he participates in popular culture,” said Kenneth T. Walsh, a White House correspondent for U.S. News and World Report since 1986 and author of Celebrity in Chief: A History of the President and the Culture of Stardom.

“He needs to bond with the country in as many ways as he can, and use sports to bond with key constituencies,” Walsh added. “He recognizes different sports appeal to different people, just as different policies appeal to different people.”

THE BIG GAME: QB Joe Burrow on Trump attending Alabama-LSU: 'The president at the game is pretty cool'

That isn’t all, of course. Trump craves adoration, the kind of fawning reception he gets at his rallies, and he’d go to a tiddlywinks tournament if it means people will cheer and chant his name. If it happens at a nationally televised event, or will be captured on video that he can promote on Twitter, all the better.

That hasn’t happened – yet. Trump was booed vigorously at the World Series, and fans at Nationals Park chanted “Lock him up!” He was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos when he arrived for the fights at Madison Square Garden.

It was no wonder, then, that Trump looked as much relieved as pleased when catcher Kurt Suzuki donned a “Make America Great Again” hat during the Washington Nationals’ visit to the White House on Monday, and Ryan Zimmerman gushed about the president. Finally, after so much rudeness and disrespect, here were people who liked him!

LSU-Alabama would seem to be an equally friendly environment. Trump won Tuscaloosa County by almost 20 points in 2016, and his net approval rating in Alabama is higher than in any other state.

“I’m not very shocked” by Trump’s visit, said Jason Castillo, president of the University of Alabama College Democrats. “LSU-Alabama is a very high-profile game. Fans of both of these teams are going to be people who generally support him, so it’s not very surprising to me at all really. It seems like a pretty safe bet.”

Nothing is guaranteed, however. Both Bushes, Obama, Harry Truman – all were booed at at least one sporting event. And Trump is more polarizing than all of them combined.

When it seemed for a few hours Wednesday that Alabama might punish students who boo Trump, there was widespread outrage. Turns out, the “disruptive behavior” Alabama’s Student Government Association had referenced was altercations between students – mix enthusiasm and alcohol, and bad things often happen.

There’s also been some grumbling about the heightened security, and the additional wait times and traffic jams that will result. Alabama’s SGA asked students to be inside the stadium by 12:30 p.m., two hours before kickoff.

“That’s causing a little bit of frustration among students,” Castillo said. “There’s less time for tailgating and more time waiting in line.”

And even those who might otherwise be supportive get irritated when they think a president is using a game or sporting event solely for show.

Though Trump isn’t as avid a sports fan as, say, Obama or George W. Bush, he did go to New York Yankees games when he was a private citizen and often attended night matches at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Since being elected, Trump attended the college football championship in 2018, as well as last year’s Army-Navy game. He also went to the U.S. Women’s Open when it was held at his club in Bedminster, N.J., in 2017.

And of the 14 Presidential Medals of Freedom that Trump has awarded, seven have been to athletes. Eight when you consider that Alan Page was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle long before he was a Minnesota Supreme Court justice and education advocate.

But Trump also has not been above using sports for his own gain. He has denigrated Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe and other athletes who have protested during the national anthem to draw attention to racism and social inequality. His interest in public sporting events has just happened to coincide with the escalation of the impeachment proceedings.

“One of the dangers of presidents, in being very visible sports fans, is if people feel they are going too far and just using sports for crass political reasons,” Walsh said.

“President Trump is willing to take the chance. He’s willing to go to these events and risk being booed because he might get the opposite reaction,” Walsh added. “And he knows it will be covered widely. That fits in to his re-election purposes.”

If Trump doesn’t get the warm reception he wants at LSU-Alabama, maybe he’ll pop up at another sporting event next weekend. Oh, look! There’s a NASCAR race.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.