Sunday’s game between the NFL’s Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders reminded us of two things.
First, the Lions are really good. And second, President Donald Trump remains a cultural icon whose popularity and capacity to achieve victory no one should underestimate.
With 1:58 remaining in the first quarter and Detroit already leading, 7-3, Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown turned a slant route into a 10-yard touchdown reception and then celebrated with teammates by pointing to the stadium’s luxury suites, acknowledging the president in attendance, and then doing the legendary “Trump dance.”
A pair of teammates, wide receiver Jameson Williams (#1) and tight end Sam LaPorta (#87), joined in the dance.
Touchdown Amon-Ra St. Brown!@Lions extend their lead
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/auCwjQVmaX
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 9, 2025
Meanwhile, in a major departure from the past, Fox Sports, which broadcast the game, treated the president with respect.
(Not that the indictment belongs to Fox alone. The entire establishment media, of course, has spent the last decade in a shameful quest to avoid “normalizing” Trump.)
Which president did more to unite America: Barack Obama or Donald Trump?
The president, in fact, joined Fox’s Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma in the broadcast booth during the third quarter. Trump engaged in sports-related banter with the two broadcasters and even analyzed a few plays.
WATCH IN FULL: President Donald J. Trump joins @NFLonFOX in the booth during the @Commanders–@Lions game pic.twitter.com/xajpIVYfK1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 9, 2025
Trump appeared at the game as part of the NFL’s “Salute to Service” in advance of Veterans’ Day. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also appeared with the president.
GAME ON! President Trump made an appearance for a “Salute to Service” NFL game Sunday between the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders. pic.twitter.com/PmTVXacn7o
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2025
Detroit rolled to a 44-22 win.
St. Brown’s celebration called to mind a similar phenomenon following Trump’s landslide victory in the 2024 election.
One year ago, football players at every level marked both the moment and the national mood by punctuating big plays with their own versions of Trump’s signature dance.
Democrats, of course, won big victories last week on Election Night 2025. Some might regard those victories as a harbinger of the 2026 midterms.
But let us not exaggerate the predictive quality of last week’s results. The largely moribund Republican Party can indeed find ways to alienate the electorate, no matter the circumstances. But Trump is different.
For instance, 2026 will feature yearlong celebrations of America’s 250th birthday. We should not underestimate the president’s ability to both harness and personify the positive energy that undoubtedly will ensue.
As long as things are going well — and if Trump gets his way, they will be — we should expect a national mood more like 2024 than 2025.
In short, Sunday’s game in Washington, D.C., from the touchdown celebration to the president’s appearance in the broadcast booth, reminded us that, whatever voters might think of Republicans more broadly, Trump maintains his special connection with the people who elected him.
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