President Donald Trump's attendance at the NCAA Wrestling Championships sparked a strong response from his competitors.
Before Trump entered the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia and received raucous cheers from fans, the Penn State wrestlers shared their thoughts on Trump as they arrive to watch their attempts at their fourth national championship.
“It's a great honor for the sport of wrestling,” Pennsylvania's Josh Barr told reporters Friday. “The sport of wrestling is where growth is needed, and there is the life and energy behind it, and President Trump brings it.
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Barr's teammate Mitchell Mesembrink told reporters Friday that he believes Trump's attendance will help improve audiences, regardless of politics.
The LA Times writer suggests that the World Series champion Dodgers should skip their White House visit: “Thank you, but no.”
President Donald Trump will attend the NCAA Men's Wrestling Championships held in Philadelphia on March 22, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
“We want people to see, we want people to see wrestling. We want people to see it, not just money, but people's time and attention, so I think it's cool.
“Democrats or Republicans, whoever it is, it's the president of the United States. The leader of our free world in wrestling events is really cool when you think about it.”
Trump praised Pennsylvania and all wrestlers outside the White House on Friday, talking about attendance at the championship.
“We're going to go for a big fight. The reason I go is Philadelphia. They have NCAA, world, college wrestling, and I've always supported wrestlers,” Trump said. “So I want to support them. These are great college wrestlers from different schools. I think Pennsylvania is leading and Nebraska is in second place right now.
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The Wrestling Championship is the first time it's returned to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia since Pennsylvania won the entire championship in 2011. It kicked off the dominant operation of the continuing Nittany Lions. They now have 12 of their last 14 titles in four straight years, after winning the team championship on Saturday.
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