Trump brings political drama to Army-Navy game sidelines

President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will attend the annual Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, and they are bringing some guests who are sure to stir debate. 

In what will be the 125th meeting of the Black Knights and Midshipmen, a source tells Fox that Trump is taking Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to the highly anticipated football clash, while Vance confirmed on social media that he will have Marine veteran Daniel Penny by his side. 

Penny was found not guilty in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely in New York City earlier this week, a decision which was criticized by some commentators on the left and underscored a divide between crime and mental health.

DANIEL PENNY FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

Hegseth is still battling it out to secure his nomination for the top defense role and the dynamics of his appearance will be interesting given Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will also be in attendance. 

DeSantis at one point was touted as a possible replacement for Hegseth, although it is unclear if he will be seated with Trump in a suite.  

Hegseth’s appearance will mark a very public declaration of support from Trump, as some senators are still holding out on committing to his confirmation. 

Hegseth, an Army National Guard and former longtime Fox News host, deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been the focus of misconduct reports.

Trump's defense secretary nominee has denied allegations that he mistreated women but did reach a financial settlement with an accuser from a 2017 incident to avoid a lawsuit. He has vowed that he won't drink "a drop of alcohol" if confirmed as defense secretary.

JD VANCE CONFIRMS DANIEL PENNY WILL ATTEND ARMY-NAVY GAME AFTER ACQUITTAL IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who President-elect Trump has tapped to serve as director of national intelligence, is also understood to be going to the game along with Speaker Mike Johnson, per reports. Gabbard, like Hegseth, is facing an uphill battle for confirmation. 

Meanwhile, Vance took a swipe at New York City prosecutors for taking on the case in a post on X confirming Penny’s attendance.

"Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone," Vance wrote. "I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage." 

Penny, 26, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the May 2023 subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who had barged onto the train shouting death threats while high on a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2.

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Trump attended the game as president in 2018, 2019 and 2020, while he also appeared as president-elect in 2016.

President Biden has never attended the annual clash as president, although he did appear as vice president.

This season has been a banner year for both football programs, adding buzz to the annual rivalry match. The teams have a combined 19 wins this year and with victories over Air Force, the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will be awarded to the winner of Saturday’s game. 

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, Paulina Dedaj and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.