Travis Kelce Got Criticized for Saying Trump at the Super Bowl Is ‘Cool.’ But ‘The View’ Hosts Defend Him for Giving a ‘Classy, Diplomatic Answer’
Whoopi Goldberg and “The View” co-hosts came to Travis Kelce’s defense ahead of Super Bowl LIX, where the Kansas City Chiefs tight end will be facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelce generated backlash ahead of the big game for telling press that it’s “pretty cool” Donald Trump will be in attendance at the Super Bowl because “it’s a great honor, I think, no matter who the president is.”
“I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there – it’s the best country in the world, so it’d be pretty cool,” Kelce added.
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The press and social media users ran wild with Kelce’s quote, mainly because Trump has been outspoken against the athlete’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift. The music icon endorsed Kamala Harris for president last fall, which prompted Trump to deride her on his Truth Social page by saying, “I hate Taylor Swift,” among other anti-Swift comments. But Kelce was never asked by reporters about the Trump-Swift drama despite many headlines on his quotes factoring in Swift.
“I thought it was totally classy, a diplomatic answer, and it’s his big day to be playing,” Alyssa Farah Griffin said on “The View” (via Entertainment Weekly). “I think I’m gonna repeat this a lot in the next four years: the presidency is bigger than any one person. He’s proud that the President of the United States is there, I don’t know that it’s any kind of statement about Donald Trump specifically. He’d say the same thing if it was Joe Biden, [Barack] Obama, George Bush.”
Sara Haines observed that Kelce was asked about Trump attending the Super Bowl while representing his team, adding: “He’s dressed in his uniform: whenever you’re in — whether it’s your company, your brand, your team — you’re representing more than yourself. And he made a point of saying, ‘I love this country.’ That was not: ‘I’m a big fan, I love this person.’”
Ana Navarro shared a similar sentiment by noting that, if Kelce decided to use a press interview to criticize Trump before the Super Bowl, then it would be a much larger issue and “it would be taken out on his team.”
“We know his brother [Jason Kelce], they are a very loving family, they are very protective over their women,” Sunny Hostin added. “I just want to throw up real quick the tweet that Trump put up about Taylor Swift. ‘I hate Taylor Swift,’ he said. I’m pretty sure that Travis Kelce knows that. He was being a diplomat. And I think he did the right thing by not giving into this madness.”
Whoopi Goldberg didn’t outright defend Kelce but she did share support for her “The View” co-hosts in speaking out against the backlash, adding: “I like that we’re not giving into the madness either. Because part of our job is not to feed that, because we want to help you not be like this,” she told the audience. “So, the kid did well, I think.”
Kelce competes in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, Feb. 9.
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