President Donald Trump gives statement during CFP National Championship on ESPN Credit: ESPN

Viewers of the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame were met with an unexpected message from the freshly inaugurated President Donald Trump at halftime on Monday night.

ESPN host Rece Davis, sitting alongside analysts Nick Saban and Desmond Howard, acknowledged that Monday was Inauguration Day, and quickly segued into a pre-taped statement from President Trump.

“Hello to my great fellow Americans. This has been a historic and exciting day for our country. In recent years our people have suffered greatly, but starting now we’re going to bring America back and make it safer, richer, prouder than ever before. We’ll have a nation filled with compassion, strength, and exceptionalism. Through our power and might we will stop wars and we will lead the world to peace. We will be respected again and we will be admired again. Admired like we haven’t been in many many years. We’ll put America first, and by doing so we’re going to make America great again.

“In less than three months since the election, you have already seen it happening. You can feel the excitement and you can see the confidence and spirit returning to our nation. Together we’re going to lead our country to glorious new heights. The Golden Age of America has just begun. To all of the players and fans watching tonight, I know it’s been a long and difficult journey, it’s been a long season, but you have two tremendous teams, and get to the game, and go out and fight hard and fight fair and let the better team win. And I’m going to enjoy watching it. Thank you and good night.”

The statement was jarring to many viewers who did not anticipate hearing from President Trump during the game. It’s certainly not the first time that ESPN has shown statements from sitting presidents during game broadcasts. Earlier this month, ESPN aired a statement from then-President Joe Biden during the Sugar Bowl just one day following the tragic terror attack in New Orleans.

When reached for statement, ESPN provided the following:

“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.”

Nevertheless, it’s a practice that seems a bit antiquated no matter which president is shown or what party they represent. It’s undeniable that the past decade has been one of the most polarized times in American politics. Many people view sports as an escape from the “real world” in which politics occupies. Given how divided the country is at this moment in time, it’d be wise for any sports network to steer clear of politics, lest you risk upsetting a substantial portion of your audience.

President Trump’s message wasn’t exactly apolitical either. It’d be one thing if President Trump simply congratulated the two teams for making the National Championship game and wished them good luck. Instead, he got political, saying, “In recent years our people have suffered greatly.”

No matter which side of the aisle a viewer might fall on, nobody was tuned into ESPN on Monday night to hear about where the United States is politically. They were tuned in so they could watch the College Football Playoff National Championship.

It should be noted, this statement did not happen in a vacuum. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, recently settled a defamation lawsuit with President Trump over comments made by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos (who ironically appeared on ESPN’s pregame show earlier that evening). As part of the settlement, Disney agreed to donate $15 million to President Trump’s future library.

Given the recent settlement, the optics of President Trump’s statement at halftime look quite different.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.