In this op-ed, assoc. culture director P. Claire Dodson and features director Brittney McNamara respond to Travis Kelce’s reaction to President Donald Trump attending Super Bowl 2025 and argue why it’s not the time to be respectful to this administration.
Well, Travis Kelce has decided to reinforce the status quo by saying it will be an “honor” to have President Donald Trump watch him play football in Super Bowl LIX— just a few months after Trump proclaimed “I hate Taylor Swift” and shared fake AI-generated images of Kelce’s anti-Trump girlfriend to support his presidential campaign.
During a Super Bowl media day on Feb. 5, reporters asked Kelce what he thought about Trump saying he will attend the Super Bowl. (It will be the first time a current POTUS has attended the big game, People noted.)
“That’s awesome. It’s a great honor,” Kelce told reporters. “I think you know, no matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there — it’s the best country in the world — and that’s pretty cool.”
Look, it’s not shocking that Travis Kelce believes the United States is the greatest country in the world. Football and patriotism are intrinsically tied, that’s why it’s such a big deal when players like Colin Kaepernick actually take radical political stances. But did he have to give such a dutiful, “respectful” answer to a president who, in just his first few weeks in office, has attempted to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, issued a now-blocked order aiming to end birthright citizenship, and promised the “mass deportation” of immigrants that has resulted in the harassment of U.S. citizens?
Now is not the time to show respect to the office of the President of the United States, as he does not seem to respect many of the citizens he governs. Through a mountain of executive orders, Trump is attempting to restrict the civil rights of numerous marginalized groups, from LGBTQ students to immigrants. Since he took office, far right and Neo-Nazi groups have rejoiced, excited about the next four years as a time for growth; in fact, Trump has surrounded himself with people who have consorted with and praised white nationalists in the past. Trump has attacked DEI efforts across the federal government, and now a “target” list of mostly Black federal government employees was seemingly created by the conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation. And, trans kids are being denied crucial gender-affirming care, while transgender members of the military are being ousted.
There is an intense dissonance between Kelce’s comments and watching Swift’s longtime best friend Selena Gomez weep on Instagram last week about the recent flood of ICE raids. “All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise,” she said. The White House then fired back at Gomez, using her video to create anti-immigrant propaganda stereotyping undocumented immigrants as violent. There’s an intense dissonance between Kelce’s milquetoast implicit support and Taylor Swift’s 2020 comments calling Donald Trump out for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism.” (Not to mention her endorsement of Kamala Harris for POTUS.)
