Trump attends Super Bowl with a complicated NFL relationship

New Orleans: Greeted with a mix of cheers and boos, US President Donald Trump attended the Super Bowl on Sunday, the first sitting president to do so in person, despite a complicated relationship with the National Football League and a controversial history of mixing politics and sports.

Trump watched the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles from a box in the Superdome in New Orleans, along with his daughter, Ivanka, and son, Eric, as well as several lawmakers who accompanied him on Air Force One to New Orleans. First lady Melania Trump did not attend.

The president's visit, some three weeks after he launched his second term at the White House with executive orders to crack down on immigration and end government diversity programs, put the Republican at the scene of a classic American pastime that connects people of all political ideologies.

It also put a spotlight on divisions in the country and differing opinions about his policies.

When he entered the stadium, to meet briefly with families of the victims of the New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street as well as police officers and emergency workers, he was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos from the crowd.

Trump's attendance also highlighted the contrast between his order to eliminate government diversity, equity and inclusion efforts with the NFL's decision to stick with its own initiatives to promote inclusion.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Monday he had no plans to scale back NFL diversity programs.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One on the way to New Orleans that he was not familiar with the NFL efforts.

"I'd have to look at what he said he's happy with," Trump said of Goodell. "He was happy also with the flag and a lot of other things that didn't work out too well."

During his first term in office Trump criticised the league and its members after Black players kneeled during the US national anthem to bring attention to racial injustice.

For Sunday's game, the league did not put the phrase "End Racism" behind one of the end zones, something it has done since 2021, replacing that directive with another one: "Choose Love."

Last year, as a presidential candidate, Trump ran ads during football games blasting his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for her stance on transgender rights. "Kamala's for they/them; President Trump is for you," the ad said.

It proved effective, and Trump has continued his crackdown on transgender rights from the White House, last week signing an executive order seeking to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports.

Trump was one of many celebrities at the game. Superstar singer Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs player Travis Kelce, was also in the stadium. She endorsed Harris in the 2024 election.