President Donald Trump on Marine One flew over the “March for Trump” rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, Saturday before heading to the Army-Navy game to do the coin toss.
NBC’s Amanda Golden shared two videos on Twitter that showed a large crowd of protesters “chanting ‘USA’ and ‘Stop The Steal’ ahead of things officially kicking off,” as President Trump did a flyover in Marine One.
President Trump on Marine One just did two flyovers of the crowd at the Freedom Plaza on his way out of DC for the Army v. Navy game pic.twitter.com/yKQjyXtcBY
— Amanda Golden (@amandawgolden) December 12, 2020
Thousands of Trump supporters took to the streets in the nation’s capital Saturday in support of the president’s lawsuits claiming voter fraud and suppression, as well as allegedly illegal changes to voting processes during the 2020 presidential election between President Trump and Joe Biden.
Following the flyover, President Trump took off for the annual Army-Navy rivalry football game, held at West Point for the first time since 1943.
As the President took the field, the rowdy crowd of Navy midshipmen and Army cadets could be heard cheering and chanting “USA.”
After a brief introduction, President Trump’s coin toss landed tails, resulting in a Navy advantage.
Prior to the coin toss, President Trump stood on the field as Colonel Keith Goode, Chaplain at the U.S. Military Academy, said a prayer calling for unity in America after an “incredibly difficult year.”
“And finally Lord, bless this land. May we as a nation humbly learn the less that is being played before us by the cadets and midshipmen today. That we as a nation…are ultimately on one team,” Col. Goode said. “And that only through out dedication to the truth, only through out discipline to do what is right and only through our sacrificial service to others may we ever hope to win over the challenges that lie before us.”
Immediately following the prayer, the glee clubs of the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy jointly performed a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Saturday’s game made history as the first to be played at West Point in 77 years. A participant in the 1943 game, Jack Gillooly, also the oldest living Navy football player who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, was surprised to see the battle return to the Army’s stomping grounds.
“I certainly never thought it would happen again in my lifetime,” Gillooly said, according to the Capital Gazette.
