It turns out that the intense static noise during ABC’s broadcast of Texas at Tennessee over the weekend may not have been related to President Donald Trump attending the SEC clash.
Before the game, the broadcast’s main storyline focused on how the president and his Secret Service detail could affect communication signals between teams during the game.
“As you’d expect, Secret Service with heightened security today,” said announcer Chris Fowler. “Fans got here very early. Sometimes, when the President moves during a game, it can affect the communication [in] the coaches’ headsets and the communication with players on the field.”
Reporter Laura Rutledge, however, clarified that both teams cleared their radio signals with the Secret Service and were not expecting any trouble communicating from the upper box to the sideline. The coaches prepared hand signals in case they couldn’t call plays to players on the field.
Right after Fowler and Rutledge set the table, game analyst Kirk Herbstreit was almost unintelligible due to the distracting amount of static that cut in when he spoke. Fowler apologized for Herbstreit’s sound, and most viewers assumed it was related to the adjustments for Trump. The noise lasted the entire first half.
Right as Laura Rutledge explains Donald Trump’s presence leading to communication issues for Texas and Tennessee, the ABC audio becomes a mess.
Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit try to deliver the play-by-play in a painful listen for ABC viewers. 🏈🎙️😵💫 pic.twitter.com/DAESHVhS7u
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 26, 2026
However, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, that was just an unfortunate coincidence.
“You would think, President Trump was there, there was a lot of talk about the Secret Service. It had nothing to do with that, I’m told,” Marchand said on his podcast Monday. “Audio board in the truck had problems. That was just coincidental with the president being there, that wasn’t the issue.”
During last season’s College Football Playoff, Indiana faced similar in-helmet communication issues at the Rose Bowl. The technical trouble affected Pat McAfee during his Field Pass alt-cast.
Perhaps the issue is more about the amount of communication equipment and broadcasting capacity involved in big-time football games these days than Trump or the Secret Service.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.