The once-and-future Commander in Chief will oversee the most anticipated Army-Navy football game in recent memory on Saturday outside Washington DC, where he’s expected to huddle with allies and a Republican cause célèbre.
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to be joined by Vice President-elect JD Vance, embattled Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, potential backup defense option Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and others for the 125th matchup between service academies.
Also planning to attend is Daniel Penny, a military veteran who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide this week in the chokehold death of an agitated subway rider in New York. Penny was invited by Vance, who accused prosecutors of trying to ‘ruin’ Penny’s life by charging the Marine veteran in the death of Jordan Neely in 2023.
Army (11-1) is ranked 19th in The Associated Press Top 25 after beating Tulane on December 6 to win the American Athletic Conference — the first league title of any kind in the team’s 134-year history. Navy (8-3) was ranked earlier this season after starting with six straight victories. Kickoff is after 3pm EST at Northwest Stadium, home to the NFL’s Washington Commanders, in Landover, Maryland.
Trump, who attended Army-Navy games as president-elect in 2016 and as POTUS 2019, has been making an increasing number of public appearances before his inauguration on January 20, 2025. He was accompanied by his family and Vance on Thursday as he rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized as Time magazine’s person of the year.
He’s also made a habit of attending college football games, such as the 2018 and 2020 College Football Playoff National Championships, as well as rivalry matchups between Georgia and Alabama, Iowa and Iowa State, as well as Clemson and South Carolina during the 2024 campaign.
Trump makes an appearance on the field at halftime during the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 25
Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters
Potential backup defense option Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also expected to be there
Trump spent the weeks after the November 5 election holed up at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida assembling a team to help lead his next administration. He and his aides have become bullish about Hegseth’s chances of winning Senate confirmation. The Army combat veteran and former Fox News host’s chances of becoming defense secretary had appeared in peril amid allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.
DeSantis, who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, is among the possible replacement candidates Trump has considered if Hegseth’s bid fizzles.
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said Friday in a Newsmax interview that Hegseth has ‘made it through the gauntlet.’ Miller predicted Hegseth will be confirmed.
‘This is someone who’s literally been shot at on the battlefield,’ Miller added. ‘That’s the type of person who I want leading the (Department of Defense) because as we make these decisions about whether or not to put American troops into harm’s way, I want someone who knows at a personal level what that’s like before you go and send some young man or young woman into battle.’
House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican – Louisiana) is also expected to attend the game and bring with him a contingent of other GOP lawmakers vying for face time with the incoming president weeks before Republicans take control of the three branches of the federal government.
Johnson said he intends to discuss with Trump plans for a legislative package that could move through Congress next year with a simple majority in the face of expected Democratic opposition.
Also planning to attend is Daniel Penny, a veteran acquitted of criminally negligent homicide
The Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights line up for the snap at the line of scrimmage during the first quarter of their 2023 meeting, which Army won 17-11
Vance said Friday that Penny, a fellow Marine veteran, had accepted his invitation to be in Trump’s suite on the Army side. Penny was cleared of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death after a judge had dismissed a more serious manslaughter charge last week because the jury deadlocked on that count.
The case was a flashpoint in the long-standing debates over racial justice and as well as failures by New York City to address homelessness and mental illness, both of which Neely had struggled with.
‘Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,’ Vance said in a post on X. ‘I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.’
Hegseth planned to be in a suite with some Medal of Honor recipients, according to a person familiar with Hegseth’s schedule.
Trump’s picks for Navy secretary, John Phelan, a businessman who never served in the military, and for Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, an Iraq War veteran and former senior adviser to Vance, also are expected to attend, said the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss those details and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Vice President-elect JD Vance talks to Fairview Volunteer Fire Department members
Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson (5) rushes downfield during a game against Tulane
Army defensive lineman Dillon Stowers (96) reacts after the AAC championship
Even in this banner season for military academy football — complete with winning streaks, national rankings and a conference championship — the biggest goal remains the same.
For Army: Beat Navy. For Navy: Beat Army.
With the college football landscape changing at a furious rate, the significance of this matchup adds a dose of tradition to mid-December, amid all that talk about the transfer portal and the new expanded playoff.
‘We’ve had a good year. You make it a great year by winning this game coming up on Saturday. Frankly, that’s just the way it goes around here,’ Army coach Jeff Monken said. ‘It’s a game and a season really all of its own. We don’t apologize for talking about it all the time. We talk about it all the time, and it’s 365 days a year.’
‘I knew we were going to be an improved football team,’ Navy coach Brian Newberry said. ‘Didn’t know exactly what that was going to look like. I think certainly we’ve improved in a lot of different areas. I’m excited about the season we’ve had.’ Advertisement
Army quarterback Bryson Daily has 29 rushing touchdowns this season, which is tied for the FBS lead with running back Ashton Jeanty, Boise State’s Heisman finalist.
Only one QB in FBS history has run for more TDs in a season than Daily. That was Navy’s Keenan Reynolds, with 31 in 2013.
‘You come here to play in this game. The biggest stage possible, millions of people watching and a sold-out NFL stadium. It’s awesome,’ Daily said. ‘None of the games that happened before this matter. We’re going into this game like we’re 0-0, they’re 0-0 because that’s just how you have to come into this game.’
