A New York Times headline asked why former President Trump sought "the embrace of 100,000 fans" while claiming "he’s in danger" as he campaigns.
NYT writer Shawn McCreesh wrote how Trump appeared to be "relishing the dangers of his job" by attending the Alabama-Georgia college football game Saturday night despite having "bragged about the mortal danger in which he finds himself" after two assassination attempts.
"Are his supporters, his rivals, the press and the public to treat his every appearance from here on out as an act of death-defying bravery, as he and his boosters suggest? And if he really is the most marked man in the world, why was he wandering around a football stadium in the Deep South in a state he does not need to campaign in, tossing out poultry and posing for selfies?" McCreesh asked Sunday.
McCreesh added "some" at the game expressed "cynicism" at Trump’s appearance, citing one anonymous grounds and facilities worker over security measures.
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"I don’t think it’s a smart move for him to come," the worker said. "I would say about half the people are probably annoyed."
McCreesh reported, "Security was tight, traffic was gridlocked, bomb-sniffing dogs prowled the grounds and a hundred thousand people were told to arrive early to pass through magnetometers in time for kickoff."
He also spoke to Thomas Radney, a 53-year-old Alabama lawyer McCreesh described as "a rare Democrat among the red-wearing, red-voting masses there that day."
"He’s as safe as in his mother’s arms here — 95 percent of the folks here think he is the second coming," Radney said.
Radney suggested Trump’s appearance was mostly for his ego.
"Alabama is going to vote for him by huge numbers," he said, "so the fact that he is here just proves what he wants is accolades and people waving, that’s his whole deal. ‘I want people to cheer for me.’"
Trump supporter Ben Wilson conceded the former president probably shouldn’t have attended the game because of the intense security measures.
"I’m for him, but I would have preferred he just stayed away today," Wilson said, "for logistical reasons."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "Leave it to the New York Times to disgustingly call everyone a threat to democracy. They're just big mad that Kamala Harris would get booed out of the stadium if she were to show her face there. The fact is that Kamala Harris, Democrats, and their media enablers are the ones who are deranged by emboldening those who threaten the safety of President Trump. There have been two heinous assassination attempts on President Trump's life, and their violent rhetoric are directly to blame."
He continued, "Their outright lies and weaponization of the justice system to perpetuate countless witch-hunt hoaxes against President Trump have been nothing short of disgusting and abhorrent. If the Democrats and Kamala Harris do not come out and apologize for their hateful rhetoric and tone down their attacks that have stoked the flames of violence, they are explicitly advocating for and inciting more bloodshed against President Trump."
This was the first time this year Trump had attended a college football game.
