These days, even the most inexpensive nosebleed tickets to the American Super Bowl would set you back a fortune.
Few people will have paid more than Donald Trump, even if many will have spent hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars to watch Kendrick’s halftime show and the Eagles’ end to the Chiefs dynasty.
The expense of the motorcade, jet travel, Secret Service, local law enforcement, and stadium security upgrades is reported to have cost the US president between $15 million and $20 million.
According to a POTUS flight tracker, Trump left the Super Bowl early even though he was the first sitting president to attend.
He was scheduled to leave at approximately 8 p.m. local time, which coincided with Lamar’s halftime performance.
Online users have been wondering about the reasons behind this.
Theory one: Trump is a Chiefs supporter
One widely held belief on Twitter was that Trump was upset about the Kansas City Chiefs’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Trump has never stated which team he cheers for, but he was more upbeat when he spoke about the Chiefs, mentioning that quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, is reportedly a Trump supporter.
The star tight end When questioned about Trump’s presence, Travis Kelce added that it was “an honor” to perform in front of any president.
This led one fan to post a picture of Kelce online and say, “Imagine saying ‘it’s an honor’ for Trump to watch you play at the Super Bowl only for him to leave early because y’all were getting beat so bad. LOOOOSSEEERRRRRR.”
The Chiefs lost 40–22, thereby failing in their attempt to win a third consecutive Super Bowl.
Theory 2: Trump was offended by Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance
Even though a lot of people concentrated on Lamar’s jabs at fellow rapper Drake, many others took note of parts of his performance that were perceived as overt anti-Trump protests.
Fans specifically took note of the altered line at the beginning of his performance that read, “The revolution is about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.”
One fan tweeted, “Kendrick Lamar dissed Trump and protested the United States in front of him and Trump got scared and left the Super Bowl early. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Another said, “Kendrick knew Trump was in attendance and he still did that. Epic.”
Lamar also included Samuel L. Jackson as “Uncle Sam” and alluded to “forty acres and a mule,” a pledge given to emancipated slaves by a Union general.
Theory 3 – It was just a matter of logistics
“Not just Trump,” a fan wrote in response to those who pointed out that he was already on Air Force One before the game was over. Major events like this are always left early by US presidents.
“Imagine the security nightmare for Secret Service if he stayed until the end and left at the same time as everyone else. Doing the crowd a favor by leaving early due to road closures for motorcade to pass.”
