One easy measurement of media partisanship is how they cover presidents getting cheered and/or booed at sports events. On Saturday afternoon, People magazine posted an article claiming President Trump was booed at a big college football game in Knoxville.
The headline:
Trump Booed at the Tennessee vs. Texas Football Game as He Appeared on the Jumbotron
The president attended the highly anticipated matchup in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 26
The implication of these articles is always that the (typically Republican) president was embarrassed as he was exposed as unpopular. Reporter Raven Brunner began:
President Donald Trump made an appearance in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 26, when the Tennessee Volunteers hosted the top-ranked Texas Longhorns in a much-anticipated college football clash.
The president, 80, was loudly booed by some fans at Neyland Stadium when he appeared on the Jumbotron, as captured in video footage shared on social media. He could be seen sitting in a box next to Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn as he did several fist pumps for the crowd.
But the Facebook video they provided from WVLT's Will Puckett has a caption that says it was a "smattering of cheers and boos alike." It sounds like one sector of the stadium in this version.
Another Facebook video from a local TV station offered audio of overwhelming cheers (where are the boos?).
The ABC Sports video with Chris Fowler on the mic just suggests overwhelming cheers in the background:
President Donald Trump is introduced at Neyland Stadium during the Texas-Tennessee game in Knoxville, as seen and heard on the ABC broadcast. pic.twitter.com/csbwUuTETp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 26, 2026
Later in the article, Brunner added:
Fans had a similar reaction when the president attended the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on June 8. Trump was booed while Avery Wilson performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he watched from a private box alongside his granddaughter Kai Trump.
Would it be shocking that Trump would be booed in deep-blue Manhattan?
People wasn't alone: An X.com search found many newspapers ran an article from of Danielle Campoamor from Us magazine (a People competitor) under the headline "President Donald Trump Booed After Intro at Tennessee vs. Texas Football Game."
President Donald Trump received a not-so-warm welcome while attending the biggest college football game of the week. The commander-in-chief, 80, was loudly booed shortly after he was introduced at the highly-anticipated Saturday, September 26, matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee.
Later, the article fuzzed it: "Despite being met with audible boos amid some positive cheers, the president seemed undeterred as the two teams battled it out on the gridiron."
