President Donald Trump stunned sports fans with his coin toss at the 126th Army-Navy football game on Saturday, which one observer described as “one of the worst…I’ve ever seen.”
Before the game began at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, the president made his way onto the field, where he shook hands with players and elicited cheers from the crowded arena.
A referee then handed Trump a coin, asking him, “Would you do the honor?”
The president placed the coin onto his gloved palm and gently threw it into the air. It landed on tails, giving the win to Army’s team, which deferred to the second half.
As the game kicked off, social media users quickly seized on the president’s form, noting that the coin did not appear to rotate at all.
“He threw the coin in the air instead of flipping it,” wrote one, while another chimed in, “Whether you’re left or right…we can all agree that was not a good coin toss.”
“It probably would have made a fantastic toss in a game of cornhole,” a third commenter wrote.
Others said the president’s gingerly throw looked like he was “releasing a baby bird,” “throwing a dead fish“ or “tossing a lump of coal.”
One user adopted Trump’s trademark all-caps style, writing “RIGGED COIN TOSS! A HOAX ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!”
Meanwhile, some social media users rallied to the president’s defense.
“Everybody is loving this,“ wrote one. Another added, “You see the energy Trump gives, you can’t get it with sleepy Joe.”
Saturday’s game was the sixth time Trump has appeared at the annual Army-Navy showdown, a rivalry recognized as one of the longest-standing in college sports. He’s the tenth sitting president to attend, a custom that Theodore Roosevelt started in 1901.
Trump has long been a football enthusiast. He purchased the United States Football League, a rival of the NFL, in 1983, and he made an unsuccessful attempt to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
Ahead of the game on Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to offer his thoughts.
“Getting ready to land at Fort McHenry for my short drive to the Army-Navy Game,” he wrote. “Everyone is asking who am I supporting, Army or Navy? My answer is: ‘You must be joking if you think I’m going to give you that answer!’”
