President Donald Trump took full advantage of college football's biggest stage Sept. 26 with a surprise flyover of a packed Neyland Stadium in Air Force One before the Tennessee Volunteers took top-ranked Texas to the wire in an SEC football thriller.
Tennessee politicians took full advantage of Trump's visit, too, making sure to put themselves as close to the president as possible as the midterm election campaign enters its final month and a half.
The president spent about three hours in Knoxville, most of the time in one of the stadium's luxury boxes. His motorcade made it to Neyland Stadium just before kickoff, and Trump made it on the Jumbotron. He at halftime to fly back to Washington.
With him were some notable names in Republican circles:
both of Tennessee's U.S. senators – Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty – as well as U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was there, too. Notably, all four are running for office and hoping Trump voters will help them weather the stiff headwinds Republicans are facing in the midterms.
Blackburn, Burchett and Hagerty made sure people knew who they were with, taking to social media to post photos of themselves with Air Force One or the president's Neyland skybox as a backdrop.
Trump was greeted at the airport by Tennessee Air National Guard commanders, including Lee Hartley, the assistant adjutant general.
Hartley, who told Knox News he used to hawk sodas at Neyland Stadium as a kid, said the visit provided an opportunity to show off the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard base.
"I'm a huge Tennessee fan, born and raised here in Knoxville," Hartley told told reporters before Trump's arrival. "Game day here on Rocky Top is special, and the added presence of the president makes it that much more so."
Trump did not address the news media while he was in Knoxville, and he excluded CNN from the trip even though the news network was assigned to handle pool coverage for other member networks, including Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham was with the president at the stadium, according to photos posted by Hagerty on social media platforms.
Trump also was accompanied by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his wife, Allison, deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers and presidential aides Natalie Harp and Walt Nauta.
Trump was shown on the Jumbotron at Neyland, whichelicited loud cheers – and a few boos – from the packed crowd. The reception isn't surprising in Tennessee, where Trump won more than 60% of the vote for president in 2020 and 2024. Trump also comfortably won Texas all three times he ran for president.
The president frequently attends high-stakes sporting events, but his visit to Knoxville is especially notable as the November midterm elections loom. He has told the Republican base to pretend he's on the ballot, and an important part of Trump's coalition is low-propensity voters who can be hard to reach through usual channels.
The stakes are high for Trump and the Republican Party this November: Control of both the House of Representatives and Senate are on the line, and Republicans are widely projected to lose the House and possibly the Senate.
Hagerty is up for reelection this year, running against Democrat Marquita Bradshaw. Blackburn, who was reelected in 2024, is running for Tennessee governor against Democrat Jerri Green and independents David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston, as well as 11 other independents. Both senators posted photos with the president on social media.
Burchett, who is running for reelection against Democrat Michaela Barnett, also took to social media to document his travel with the president.
Former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who weighed a run for governor himself before becoming the treasurer of Blackburn's campaign, shared a photo with Trump, as well.
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: President Donald Trump traveled to Tennessee amid midterm pressure
