Trump attends 125th Army-Navy game alongside key allies, nominees and Daniel Penny

President-elect Donald Trump huddled with allies and a Republican cause célèbre at Saturday’s Army-Navy football game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, a chance to take in one of most stories rivalries in college sports while spotlighting his emerging national security team.

Trump sat in the box of Sen.-elect Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell McCormick. He was joined by Vice President-elect JD Vance, embattled Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth and others for the 125th matchup between service academies. Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump picked to be his director of national intelligence, was spotted in the box.

 Elon Musk, the billionaire tapped to co-head the newly coined Department of Government Efficiency, was also seen with Trump.

Also in attendance was Daniel Penny, a military veteran who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide this week in the chokehold death of an agitated subway rider in New York. Penny was invited by Vance, who accused prosecutors of trying to “ruin” Penny’s life by charging the Marine veteran in the death of Jordan Neely in 2023.

Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also shown sitting with Trump. The Joint Chiefs chairman is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and serves as the primary military adviser to the president, defense secretary and National Security Council.

Brown was nominated to the post by President Biden in May 2023. 

Trump, who attended Army-Navy games as president-elect in 2016 and during his first terms, has been making an increasing number of public appearances before his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. He was accompanied by his family and Vance on Thursday as he rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized as Time magazine’s person of the year.

Trump spent the weeks after the Nov. 5 election holed up at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida assembling a team to help lead his next administration. He and his aides have become bullish about Hegseth’s chances of winning Senate confirmation. The Army combat veteran and former Fox News host’s chances of becoming defense secretary had appeared in peril amid allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said Friday in a Newsmax interview that Hegseth has “made it through the gauntlet.” Miller predicted Hegseth will be confirmed.

“This is someone who’s literally been shot at on the battlefield,” Miller added. “That’s the type of person who I want leading the (Department of Defense) because as we make these decisions about whether or not to put American troops into harm’s way, I want someone who knows at a personal level what that’s like before you go and send some young man or young woman into battle.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attended the game and brought with him a contingent of other GOP lawmakers vying for face time with the incoming president weeks before Republicans take control of the three branches of the federal government.

Johnson said he intends to discuss with Trump plans for a legislative package that could move through Congress next year with a simple majority in the face of expected Democratic opposition.

Vance said Friday that Penny, a fellow Marine veteran, had accepted his invitation to be in Trump’s suite on the Army side. Penny was cleared of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death after a judge had dismissed a more serious manslaughter charge last week because the jury deadlocked on that count.

The case was a flashpoint in the long-standing debates over racial justice and as well as failures by New York City to address homelessness and mental illness, both of which Neely had struggled with.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance said in a post on X. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”

Governor Wes Moore proclaimed Dec. 14, 2024, as Army vs. Navy Game Day in Maryland. 

“Today is not just about one of the greatest rivalries in college sports – It’s about what brings us together. I am proud to be part of the long tradition of service that defines our state and our country; one that transcends background, ideology, race, and family history,” said Moore.

Army (11-1) is ranked 19th in The Associated Press Top 25 after beating Tulane on Dec. 6 to win the American Athletic Conference — the first league title of any kind in the team’s 134-year history. Navy (8-3) was ranked earlier this season after starting with six straight victories. 

The Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights have faced each other on the football field every year since 1930, including when the United States was fighting in World War II. 

Army will pay tributes to soldiers who fought in a pivotal battle 80 years ago that occurred as Adolf Hitler launched a last-ditch effort to push back American and Allied forces in Europe. The Army’s 101st Airborne was among the units that fought Axis troops amid freezing weather. 

Now, Army’s Black Knights are hoping to honor that dogged determination on the field today. Their uniforms on the field are inspired by the snow and trees the soldiers were surrounded by, and reflect the tenacity of the soldiers, who refused to surrender and were able to fight off the enemy.