Donald Trump appears on The Pat McAfee Show: “I only go on you because you say nice things about me”

President Donald Trump has had a busy few days in the world of sport. Over the weekend, he became the first sitting president to attend an NFL game since 1978 and he followed that up with a surprise appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

McAfee received a call directly from Trump, who wanted to join the program to discuss a wide range of topics, including college sports, the 2026 World Cup, the NFL kickoff rule and even the Ryder Cup.

But what caught the most attention was Trump’s reason for joining McAfee’s show in the first place. The president said he decided to appear because the host has “always said nice things” about him, and if that hadn’t been the case he wouldn’t have accepted the invitation.

“I’m only joining you because I hear you say such nice things about me from your very large audience,” Trump told McAfee to start the interview. “I’ve always heard you’ve said such nice things. When people say nice about me, I join. When they don’t say nice about me, I take a pass.”

Trump quizzed on college sports financing

McAfee, who has become one of the biggest voices in sports media, spoke to Trump on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and NFL coaches in a far-reaching chat. The President was also asked about the recent changes in college sport, giving athletes the chance to earn money through name, image, likeness deals.

“It is a very serious problem because even football, when they give quarterbacks $12 million, $13 million, $14 million, I read a couple of them, and all of a sudden you’re going to see it’s going to be out of control,” Trump said. “And even rich colleges are going to go bust because you’re not going to be able to do this.”

McAfee received some push-back from people who argued that he had allowed Trump to voice some unsubstantiated claims about the government shutdown without response. However McAfee insisted that he had no choice but to speak to the President if he wishes to appear.

He said: “For the immediate people that are mad - it’s the president of the United States. It’s Veterans Day. He’s the Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, if we have the opportunity to talk to him, we’re going to!”

Trump’s latest appearance once again shows how comfortable he is blending politics with sports, and how his presence continues to draw attention wherever he goes.

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