Donald Trump sent NASCAR fans wild at the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon as Air Force One flew over the track in Florida before being driven along a part of the circuit in The Beast.
The President’s plane was cheered by thousands of fans as it roared over the racetrack, with Trump making it a second straight weekend of high-profile appearances at a sporting event.
Last Sunday, he became the first sitting President to attend a Super Bowl when he headed to New Orleans to watch the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
The president’s motorcade drove straight onto the track at 1:17 p.m. and traveled a short distance in front of the NASCAR fans packed into the stands before it entered a secure area.
Trump then stood for the national anthem. His short appearance on the big screen was met with a massive cheer by the thousands of fans in the stadium.
I think it’s fantastic, it’s great for the country,’ Trump told Fox. ‘Our country is doing well again, we have spirit all over the world. We brought it back and it’s been less than four weeks, so you’ll see what we do in a little period of time. It’s only going to get better. This is very exciting.’
Trump promptly put on a MAGA hat before making the short journey towards the circuit
He continued: ‘I understand they’ll be going quite quickly. They have a lot of courage, I see it and I’ve been here. They have a lot of guts.’
Trump’s plane touched down shortly after 1pm and he descended the front stairs of Air Force One carrying several red MAGA hats. He was followed by Eric and Lara Trump and two of their children.
On a windy day in Florida, Trump put on one of the MAGA hats, matching his red tie, and stopped for several minutes to speak to greeters, which appeared to include Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Before his face had even been shown on television, his attendance on Sunday sparked an inevitable liberal meltdown on social media.
One fan took to X to say Fox was showing too much of Trump by broadcasting Air Force One circling over the track.
‘Fox you’ve got liberal fans of NASCAR,’ one said. ‘Can we treat Donald Trump like Taylor Swift and show him sparingly. Really don’t need glory shots of AF1 landing.’
Another said: ‘As a fan of NASCAR I am watching the 500 to watch the race. I am not interested nor do I care about Donald Trump being at the race. I want to watch a race and the drivers. NOT Donald Trump.’
A different complainant posted: ‘It wasn’t bad enough that Donald Trump wasted millions attending half of the Super Bowl last weekend…
‘But now he’s attending the NASCAR Daytona 500. How much is hosing the taxpayers for today?’
Trump flew over the circuit in his Air Force One plane shortly before landing for the race
�� WATCH: President Trump just did an EPIC flyover at the Daytona 500
The crowd went absolutely WILD! ��
It’s like one big MAGA rally!
pic.twitter.com/VujMEBZpZo— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 16, 2025
While Trump’s Super Bowl attendance was a first for a sitting President, the NASCAR appearance on Sunday isn’t quite as historical – Trump made a visit to the event during his first term as president.
It’s the third time overall in history that a sitting President has made it the biggest day in the racing calendar.
The start of the race had been moved forward an hour due to bad weather and rain forecast in the area later on Sunday.
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