If you weren’t a fan of Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, then you aren’t a fan of our troops.
At least that’s how Pat McAfee sees it, one day after he hosted his eponymous daily ESPN show live from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina in celebration of Veterans Day.
Of course, it wasn’t the site of the episode that left people talking, but rather the guest list. That included a 20-minute phone interview with President Donald Trump, which elicited criticism from this site and others.
On Wednesday, McAfee opened his show by reflecting on the previous day’s episode and the blowback it received. Unsurprisingly, the former All-Pro punter stood behind his decision to interview Trump, pointing to his intention to celebrate the military.
“In my eyes, he’s the leader of the military, and we were celebrating the hell out of Veterans Day,” McAfee said. “There are people that are certainly not the most happy that that happened. But what I would like to say, every veteran and military person that I talked to was very grateful and thankful that we spotlighted the heroes of America who walk amongst us, who are willing to sign a line and go for the United States of America as opposed to anything else.
“So if you’re against what happened yesterday, I would like to say, you hate the troops. And you should go ahead and swallow that and you can take that to where you want to go.”
What a day at Parris Island yesterday..
We appreciate the hell out of the Marines for the hospitality #PMSLive https://t.co/3VBJSmXJza pic.twitter.com/KZ1d89lFtO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 12, 2025
McAfee reiterated that he had extended an invitation to former President Barack Obama to appear on the Veterans Day episode, which they were unable to make happen due to scheduling conflicts. He also stated that any U.S. President has an open invite to appear future Veterans Day episodes of PMS, before ending the segment by once again addressing his critics.
“I’ve got a lot of people saying mean stuff to me,” McAfee said. “Got a lot of people that don’t know what a football looks like telling me they’re never watching my show again. And I would like to let you know: good! F*ck you. Let’s move on.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.