President Donald Trump has vowed to protect the annual Army-Navy football game time slot from competition amid talk of potential College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion.
In a social media post, the 79-year-old fan pledged to sign an executive order preventing other postseason college football games from being played during Army-Navy’s four-hour window on the second Saturday of December.
‘The Army-Navy Game is one of our Greatest American Traditions — Unmatched Patriotism, Courage, and Honor! This incredible Tradition is now at risk of being pushed aside by more College Playoff Games, and Big TV Money,’ he wrote. ‘NOT ANYMORE!
‘Under my Administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy! I will soon sign a Historic Executive Order securing an EXCLUSIVE 4 hour Broadcast window, so this National Event stands above Commercial Postseason Games. No other Game or Team can violate this Time Slot!!!
‘On the field, they are rivals, but on the battlefield they are America’s unstoppable Patriots, defending our Country with tremendous Strength and Heart. We must protect the Tradition, and the Players, who protect us. Please let this serve as Notice to ALL Television Networks, Stations, and Outlets. God Bless America, and God Bless our great Army-Navy Game!!! President Donald J. Trump.’
For years, Trump has embraced the pageantry of the Army-Navy game while making six appearances at the annual rivalry matchup. As for his own rooting interest, Trump has never revealed any favoritism towards the Black Knights or Midshipmen and has no personal or familial connection to any branch of the military.
Trump has embraced the pageantry of the Army-Navy game while making six appearances at the annual rivalry matchup, most recently in December at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium
Blake Horvath of the Navy Midshipmen is tackled by Casey Larkin #20 of the Army Black Knights during the first half of the 126th Army-Navy Game at M&T Bank Stadium in December
His decision to weigh in on the Army-Navy time slot is Trump’s latest effort of Trump imposing his will the media.
Recently the administration has targeted a Washington Post’s journalist, while seizing computer devices from her home.
Hannah Natanson, nicknamed the ‘federal government whisperer’ at the Post for her reporting on President Donald Trump’s changes to the federal workforce, had a phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch seized in the Wednesday search of her Virginia home, the newspaper said.
A warrant for the raid said it was connected to an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials, said Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor, in an email to his staff.
The Post was told that Natanson and the newspaper are not targets of the investigation, he said.
The raid was made in context of a series of actions taken against the media during the Trump administration, including lawsuits against The New York Times, CBS and the BBC.
Most legacy news organizations no longer report from stations at the Pentagon after they refused to sign on new rules restricting their reporting set by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Funding for public broadcasting has been choked off due to Trump’s belief that its news coverage leaned left.
Some news outlets have also taken steps to be more aligned with the administration, Jaffer said, citing CBS News since its corporate ownership changed last summer. The Washington Post has shifted its historically liberal opinion pages to the right under owner Jeff Bezos.
