Pat McAfee has responded to criticism over his recent appearance alongside President Donald Trump.
ESPN’s daytime talk-show host came under fire for greeting Trump and accompanying him to the inaugural Patriot Games – a four-day high school athletics competition created by the White House that concluded on Tuesday.
‘Can we finally cancel Pat??’ one critic asked on X amid an avalanche of criticism directed at McAfee.
The 39-year-old McAfee, who has claimed to be apolitical, responded to the post by promoting one of his upcoming projects.
‘Promoting American High Schoolers being active and competitive and potentially winning life changing scholarship money alongside my business partners at Disney/ABC/ESPN,’ McAfee wrote, somewhat cryptically.
He then pivoted to his debut music album, which he plans to release later this week.
The ESPN star sat next to the Presdeint for the finale of the sporting competition
Pat McAfee (front far left) accompanied Donald Rrump (front center) to the Patriot Games
‘On that note,’ he began, ‘I wrote and sang an entire album… The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure.’
‘AVAILABLE THIS FRIDAY.’
McAfee had been careful not to align himself with either American political party, although he has previously hosted Trump on his daytime talk show last November.
On Tuesday, the two appeared chummy at the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio.
McAfee’s arrival was marked by an eruption of cheers and pyrotechnics before he took center stage, waving to the crowd.
The President later took his seat alongside McAfee, who sported a black t-shirt, jeans and backwards baseball cap in a stark contrast to Trump’s signature suit and red tie.
Earlier in the afternoon, McAfee greeted Trump on the tarmac as Air Force One touched down in Ohio before traveling with the Commander-in-Chief for the competition.
The former NFL star had greeted Trump on the tarmac in front of Air Force One in Ohio
McAfee’s proximity to Trump sparked outrage from many sports fans, who viewed the appearance as hypocritical given his previous public comments on politics.
‘Good to know he’s a spineless POS like the rest of them,’ one social media user wrote on X.
Several critics referred to the ESPN host as ‘Pat MAGAfee,’ in reference to the President’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement.
‘You are judged by the company you keep,’ claimed a third.
‘Let’s fire good analysts from ESPN like Ryan Clark, and instead give $60 mill a year to MAGA bootlickers like Pat McAfee,’ wrote another referring to former NFL star Clark who was recently let go by ESPN and McAfee’s alleged contract.
They added: ‘So much for him ‘not being political.’
