- Before the Palmetto State duel, Trump was seen waving to the crowd
- In recent years he has made regular pilgrimages to college football games
- provides the latest international sports news
Donald Trump received a warm welcome from South Carolina fans as he took his seat at Williams-Brice Stadium for the school’s football rivalry game with Clemson.
The 5-6 Gamecocks host the 7-4 Tigers in the conservative state that former President Trump won in both 2016 and 2020. But while the majority of South Carolina voters are Republican, USC happens to be in Richland County, which voted overwhelmingly for President Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
However, fans in attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night still seemed happy to see him. Footage appeared on social media showing Trump cheering as he took his seat in the stands.
The 77-year-old waves to the crowd before the Palmetto State rivalry game, where he hopes to overshadow his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home court.
Trump has made regular trips to college football games in recent years, attending an Iowa State game in September as well as several other SEC games, national championship games and Army-Navy battles during his only term in office.
Donald Trump attended the rivalry between South Carolina and Clemson on Saturday evening
The 5-6 Gamecocks host the 7-4 Tigers in the conservative state that former President Trump won in both 2016 and 2020
The former US president received a warm welcome in South Carolina – the conservative state that he won in both 2016 and 2020
As tens of thousands of Gamecock and Tiger fans gathered around the stadium Saturday afternoon, more than half a dozen electronic billboards around Colombia’s capital boasted a message calling attention to his 2020 election defeat and his pending legal cases. ‘You lost. You are guilty. “Welcome to Columbia, Donald.”
Some vendors around the venue, meanwhile, hawked Trump-related merchandise, including “Trump 2020” flags from the previous election cycle.
Trump is from New York, an area known to favor the NFL, and has not attended a college football powerhouse (his alma mater Penn is 3-4, sixth in the Ivy League).
However, he has captivated college football audiences in the South and Midwest, where he has traditionally been very well received
And recently, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee received a standing ovation at UFC 295 in New York, where he appeared alongside promoter Dana White, conservative media personality Tucker Calrson and musician Kid Rock.