President Donald Trump attended the Army-Navy game on Dec. 8 and did the ceremonial coin toss before the two teams played.
He arrived at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, writing on Twitter it was a “Great honor to be headed to the Army-Navy game today.”
After trump handled the coin toss, the crowd erupted into cheers.
In a statement to CBS News, military academy West Point wrote it was an “honor” to have the president.
“It’s an honor to have the president in attendance as the nation watches these men fight one another with every ounce of their being on the field, but when it’s all said and done, they will combine to form one of the most powerful fighting forces known to mankind—the U.S. Armed Forces,” the statement reads.
President Donald Trump, second from left, is joined by, from left, West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Ted Carter, during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the Army-Navy NCAA college football game in Philadelphia, on Dec. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Trump’s appearance at the annual game comes as he announced that his chief of staff, John Kelly, would be leaving his position at the end of 2018.
“John Kelly will be leaving, retiring. I don’t know if I can say ‘retiring,’” Trump told reporters before leaving for the Army-Navy football game. “But he’s a great guy. John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year.”
Trump said that he “appreciate[s] his service very much.”
“I mean, there’s no great secret. A lot of administrations make changes after midterms. I will say that, for the most part, I’m very, very happy with this Cabinet,” Trump said when asked about the chief of staff. Kelly was tapped for the position last year after Reince Priebus departed.
“It’s a very exhausting job,” the president said of the chief of staff role. “They start off, they’re young people, they’re there for two years, and they’re old by the time they leave.”
President Donald Trump meets with Navy player Anthony Gargiulo ahead of an NCAA college football game between Army and Navy, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Army Beats Navy Again
Army coach Jeff Monken hopped on top of a wall and pumped his fist toward stoked cadets set to belt out the alma mater. Monken brought the party to the locker room and waved an “Army Football” flag as the Black Knights bounced around him, according to The Associated Press.
Army ditched its mundane routines and cut loose like a bunch of rowdy civilians. And why not? The setting was right after Army beat Navy for the third straight game, this time in front of a packed house and the president.
“I don’t ever want our guys to stop celebrating,” Monken said. “I promise you, I’ll be celebrating every year if we win this thing because I know how hard it is.”
Monken resuscitated the Black Knights and turned a program that suffered annual losses to the Midshipmen into a bowl-bound team that can keep the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy back at West Point.
The No. 22 Black Knights recovered two fumbles in the fourth quarter, Kelvin Hopkins Jr. had two rushing touchdowns and Army beat Navy 17-10 on Saturday to win its third straight game in the series.
With Navy down 10-7, quarterback Zach Abey lost a fumble on fourth-and-12 deep in its own territory. Hopkins would score on a 1-yard run to make it 17-7 and give Army the cushion it needed to win in front of 66,729 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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