White House Officials Clears The Air On Why Donald Trump Will Be In the Super bowl In New Orleans..
President Donald Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, a White House official told CNN.
The guest list is still being prepared, the official said, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana native, is in talks to join him.
With his Sunday attendance, Trump will make history as the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl.
There is a significant security presence around the Super Bowl, with or without a presidential visit, but a source familiar with the planning described heightened preparations ahead of Trump’s attendance.
The Super Bowl is designated as an “NSSE,” a national special security event, requiring a whole-of-government strategy to securing the venue and the region.
Planning for the event began when New Orleans was selected as the game site back in 2020, and it will require the full gamut of security resources available, from chemical to biological to radiological resources, according to Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN contributor and former US Secret Service agent.
Former President George H.W. Bush performed the traditional Super Bowl coin toss after leaving office in 2002 and again in 2017. And then-President Ronald Reagan performed a coin toss “via satellite from the Oval Office” in 1985, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Still, it won’t be Trump’s first turn at a major championship sporting event; he attended Game 5 of the World Series in 2019 as the hometown Washington Nationals took on the Houston Astros.
There is a significant security presence around the Super Bowl, with or without a presidential visit, but a source familiar with the planning described heightened preparations ahead of Trump’s attendance.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared photos from Ceasars Superdome on Tuesday, where she is overseeing the security measures.
For instance, the source familiar with planning said there will be significantly reduced staff on site on Friday and Saturday for the purposes of security sweeps, with many involved being told not to come to the arena on either day.
That source described the preparations as “very serious” and “pretty intense,” comparing the level of screenings on site to a G7 summit of world leaders.
“DHS has protected the NFL Super Bowl for 20+ years. We’re working around the clock to ensure a safe and secure game day at the Superdome and in the city of New Orleans,” Noem posted t