Why is Donald Trump at Palmetto Bowl between South Carolina, Clemson in Columbia?
Former President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail, and he'll be making a stop in Columbia Saturday.
The Palmetto Bowl between South Carolina and Clemson will be attended by Trump, as the Republican candidate continues his bid for the 2024 election.
Trump's campaign confirmed his attendance via statement, but no further information was given.
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“President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will attend the Palmetto Bowl in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at 7:30PM EST,” the statement read.
Trump also attended the Cy-Hawk game in Ames earlier this season, with Iowa remaining a known political battleground. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a known political rival of Trump's, has been gaining ground on him in Republican polls.
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Is Donald Trump at Clemson-South Carolina game?
Saturday will mark Trump's first appearance at South Carolina's biggest game.
Both Shane Beamer and Dabo Swinney brushed off questions about Trump's attendance, preferring to keep their focus on the game itself.
"I don't really think I can comment on all 80,000 people that are gonna be in this stadium..." Beamer said. "...The fact that Donald Trump. Nikki Haley apparently. And whoever else wants to come. President Biden. (Sixth District Representative (D)) James Clyburn, whoever. From a political realm. I think it's just a great statement about those people want to be on this game. There's a lot of eyes on this game as well."
Swinney was far less diplomatic in his response.
"I don't care who comes to the game," he said. "I just care about who's playing in the game. Unless Shane's gonna put him in and throw him a halfback pass or something, I ain't worried about who's at the game. I just wanna win it and focus on who's playing."
What college football games has Trump attended?
Trump attended a number of football games during his term as president, primarily Army vs. Navy. In his first appearance at Army vs. Navy, Trump was interviewed live on CBS and said "I don't know if it's necessarily the best football" but that it was "very good" to see the pageantry. He was a part of the coin toss at all the Army vs. Navy events.
2015 Cy-Hawk game (Iowa won 31-17)
2016 Army vs. Navy (Army won 21-17)
2018 College Football Playoff National Championship (Alabama won 26-23 over Georgia)
2018 Army vs. Navy (Army won 17-10)
2019 LSU vs. Alabama (LSU won 46-41)
2019 Army vs. Navy (Navy won 31-7)
2020 College Football Playoff National Championship (LSU won 42-25 over Clemson)
2020 Army vs. Navy (Army won 15-0)
2023 Iowa State vs. Iowa (Iowa won, 20-13)
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Donald Trump is at Palmetto Bowl Clemson-South Carolina game. Here's why
