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CNN
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President Donald Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, a White House official told CNN.
The guest list is still being prepared, the official said, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana native, is in talks to join him.
With his Sunday attendance, Trump will make history as the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl.
Former President George H.W. Bush performed the traditional Super Bowl coin toss after leaving office in 2002 and again in 2017. And then-President Ronald Reagan performed a coin toss “via satellite from the Oval Office” in 1985, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Still, it won’t be Trump’s first turn at a major championship sporting event; he attended Game 5 of the World Series in 2019 as the hometown Washington Nationals took on the Houston Astros.
There is a significant security presence around the Super Bowl, with or without a presidential visit, but a source familiar with the planning described heightened preparations ahead of Trump’s attendance. The Super Bowl is designated as an “NSSE,” a national special security event, requiring a whole-of-government strategy to securing the venue and the region. Planning for the event began when New Orleans was selected as the game site back in 2020, and it will require the full gamut of security resources available, from chemical to biological to radiological resources, according to Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN contributor and former US Secret Service agent.
CNN has reached out to the NFL for comment. Punchbowl News first reported Trump’s expected attendance.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared photos from Ceasars Superdome on Tuesday, where she is overseeing the security measures.
For instance, the source familiar with planning said there will be significantly reduced staff on site on Friday and Saturday for the purposes of security sweeps, with many involved being told not to come to the arena on either day.
That source described the preparations as “very serious” and “pretty intense,” comparing the level of screenings on site to a G7 summit of world leaders.
“DHS has protected the NFL Super Bowl for 20+ years. We’re working around the clock to ensure a safe and secure game day at the Superdome and in the city of New Orleans,” Noem posted to X.
Wackrow told CNN it will be relatively easy for Secret Service to convert the existing security apparatus to accommodate a presidential visit.
“If you’re going to take the president anywhere, taking him into an environment that has been planned and designated as a national special security event gives you a bit of an advantage. Secret Service and law enforcement partners will be able to very effectively build out a security plan specific to the president of the United States that integrates into the existing process,” he said.
But the logistics of a presidential Super Bowl stop, he said, could inject disruption into the city, including along the motorcade route and airport where Air Force One lands.
The trip also comes months after a pair of assassination attempts targeting Trump, as well as a New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street.
The global threat environment and persistent activity of domestic violent extremists, Wackrow said, “is significantly concerning to the Secret Service for a trip like this. However, this is almost the new normal for them — they now understand this is the environment they’re in.”
The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar is scheduled to perform during the halftime show.
This story has been updated with additional information.
