UPDATE: White House officials and CNN have since reported that Trump’s trip to Tampa has been called off.
President Donald Trump, who recently stated the NFL should change its name so that soccer is the only sport that uses a “football,” is headed to Raymond James Stadium for this Sunday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to reports.
The news of Trump’s visit was first reported by CNN’s senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, who wrote on X: “President Trump is expected to attend the Tampa Bay game in Florida Sunday, two sources familiar with the plan tell CNN.”
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay has not been able to verify this report, but did reach out for confirmation and will update this story if we hear back.
While the Iran War continues to push gas prices to record highs, Trump has been enjoying more and more football games as of late. The 80-year-old was loudly booed recently at the Tennessee-Texas game in deep-red Knoxville, and attempted to visit the Georgia-Alabama game last weekend, but had to cancel due to Hurricane Isaias.
The president has also been blamed for teams losing due to communication interruptions from his secret service. Last month, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters that University of Miami’s coaching staff informed him that whenever the President moves locations in the stadium all communications are cut, even on the field.
“Anytime the President changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication. They cut your headsets in terms of coach to player communication. So you have to plan for that,” Sarkisian said. “You get no warning. It just cuts out. You have to be prepared for that.”
Sarkisian added that Mario Cristobal had told him Miami lost communication during a late drive after Trump left the stadium. Miami ended up losing last season’s national championship 27-21, and the Hoosiers secured their first ever national title.
Trump won’t be the only big-name politician in town this weekend. On Saturday, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders will be in Ybor City stumping for Angie Nixon’s U.S. Senate campaign.
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This article appears in Oct. 08 – 14, 2026.