Melania: Twenty Days to History, directed and produced by Brett Ratner, follows First Lady Melania Trump through the 20 days before her husband Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Coincidentally, that was also the day of the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Despite the inauguration being held at 12:00 p.m. ET and the game kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET, Trump seemed frustrated and annoyed by the double-booking in a clip from his wife’s documentary.
The film, which had been widely panned by critics as self-promotional and propagandistic, has been in a theatrical exclusive window since its January 30 premiere. However, clips have appeared on social media, including one that shows the Trumps planning the inauguration day.
In the clip, Trump is seen wondering aloud if Melania’s intended dress can top the one she wore at his first inauguration before turning his attention to the college football national championship.
“We are competing with the championship game?” Trump asks the person helping them plan the day’s events. “How did that happen?”
“I’m unsure, sir,” the man replies.
“Well, we’ve always had this day, cause this day’s been here for hundreds of years,” Trump replies. “So, they put a game…”
The man says that the administration is “working extremely closely with the networks,” presumably to ensure coverage of the inauguration.
“I know, but why did they have to put the national championship at the same time?” asks Trump.
“Unclear,” replies the man.
“They probably did it on purpose,” adds Trump dejectedly, before finally moving on.
Trump ended up providing a pre-taped statement that aired on ESPN during halftime of the national championship. Unlike similar presidential statements that focused on the game or sport, this was more of a political stump speech, which jarringly divided many viewers.
Given his annoyance in the documentary, one wonders whether he felt he needed to deliver a truncated version of his inauguration speech to an audience he presumed wouldn’t have been watching earlier in the day.
“With Donald Trump’s Inauguration occurring on the day of the CFP National Championship, it makes sense to include a message from the President, a practice that occurs regularly during major sporting events – including earlier this month from President Biden before the Sugar Bowl,” said ESPN in a statement about the speech.
As for why the national championship game was scheduled for the day of Trump’s inauguration, that was a College Football Playoff decision, and one they likely made based on their game schedule, not to overshadow the president. As for whether Trump’s gripes led to his halftime speech being included as it stood, that’s unknown.
We do know how important TV is to Trump, as he often sees politics as just another version of mass entertainment. So it makes sense he would be frustrated by the implication that his big day might be overshadowed by a bigger show, leading him to want to be a part of it. That the two events took place hours apart was either lost on him or irrelevant to how he viewed his place on American television that day.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.