Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump entered the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday to thunderous applause as he arrived to watch the NCAA men’s wrestling championships.
A video posted to X showed fans chanting “USA! USA!” and cheering loudly.
Elon Musk, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Dave McCormick also attended the event with the president.
In the heavyweight division, Oklahoma State wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, won in an upset victory 5-4. He ended with a salute to Trump in the patriotic win.
“Today, I took the gold medal, I’m No. 1,” Hendrickson said after his win, according to MMA Fighting. “I was telling myself I know I can do this. God gifted me. All week I’ve been looking at David and Goliath and no one thought David could take down Goliath but I did.”
The event stood as the first time a sitting president has attended the NCAA wrestling championships. Outkick co-founder Clay Travis first announced the president’s plans in a post to X on Tuesday.
“Awesome news: I’ll be traveling with @realDonaldTrump on Air Force One to the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia this weekend. Shout out @karolineleavitt for @Outkick invite as part of White House new media initiative. Can’t wait. I’m sure the other media will love me!” Travis posted.
“See you this weekend!” Leavitt replied to Travis.
Trump has previously attended numerous UFC and boxing events, but the weekend appearance was his first NCAA wrestling championship.
The president has attended other high-profile sports events since returning to the White House, including the Daytona 500 in Florida, taking laps in his presidential vehicle, known as “The Beast.” Trump also shared interviews, greeted racers and arrived after a flyover in Air Force One.
As RSBN previously reported, Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February. The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement ahead of the game that it had staff members in New Orleans evaluating security measures ahead of the planned visit of the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.