Pat McAfee managed to do the impossible on Veteran’s Day, which is to make ESPN interesting again. Naturally, that triggered the professional scolds who treat politics like some sacred temple where only approved viewpoints are allowed. McAfee invited President Trump onto his show, the audience at Parris Island loved it, and half the media reacted like someone set their group chat on fire. Shocking, I know. A sports host talked to the commander in chief on a day dedicated to honoring the military. Truly unbearable stuff according to the same people who think ESPN should run lectures between kickoff highlights.
The interview itself was classic Trump. He opened with a joke about only visiting shows that treat him fairly. Honestly, after years of media outlets acting like their job is performance art instead of journalism, that approach makes perfect sense. McAfee’s show has a massive audience, it is not dripping with condescension, and it was broadcasting from a Marine Corps base. So Trump called in, chatted for twenty minutes, and the crowd loved every second of it.
Trump talked about the Veterans Affairs reforms he put in place, explaining how he replaced the people who were mistreating veterans with employees who actually care about them. Anyone who followed the VA scandals before 2016 remembers how badly that mess needed to be cleaned up. He even threw out his usual stat about veteran approval of his administration and led an Ooh rah chant with the Marines. You could hear how much the crowd ate it up.
He also went after the NFL’s new kickoff format, which he said ruins the spirit of football. For someone who has followed the league forever, his rant about how the rule feels unromantic and strips away the energy of the game was pretty on point. A lot of fans feel the same way. The more the league tinkers with tradition, the less it feels like the sport America grew up with.
Then he talked about the Ryder Cup, the government funding deal, World Cup safety concerns and even joked that some NFL coaches would make better generals than politicians. It was loose, funny, comfortable, the opposite of the stiff interviews politicians usually do.
But of course the criticism rolled in right on schedule. Some people cannot stand that McAfee refuses to march in lockstep with ESPN’s old corporate habits. Instead of groveling, he basically told critics to get over themselves. He reminded everyone that it was Veteran’s Day, that the President of the United States wanted to join the show, and that any normal person would take that call. He even added that Trump is hilarious, which is apparently a forbidden statement in certain corners of cable sports media.
The bottom line is simple. McAfee treated the commander in chief with respect on a day meant to honor the military. The audience enjoyed it and the only people mad are the ones who look for something to be mad about every single morning before they even drink their coffee.
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