Why Donald Trump's Attendance At Super Bowl 2025 Angered So Many People

History was on full display Sunday, February 9, 2025, when Donald Trump became the first sitting president to go to the Super Bowl — incorrectly putting his bets on who would win the game. Any presidential outing is a costly venture; the countdown to Super Bowl LIX brought a heap of national security down to New Orleans as they prepared for the president's attendance. With speculations about how much it cost taxpayers to have Trump in the audience, people were wondering why Trump's Department of Government Efficiency didn't interject.

A user on X, formerly Twitter, estimated the cost breakdown of the preparations for the president, writing, "Secret Service: $7M to $10M. Air Travel and Motorcade: $4M-5M. Stadium Security Upgrades: Additional metal detectors, bomb sweeps, security checkpoints: $2M. Local Law Enforcement: Overtime & personnel: $1M. Trump's Super Bowl attendance: $15 to $20M. Where's DOGE?" 

More X users expressed their outrage over the estimation as well. "While they are cutting spending on basic needs for feeding the poor and taking away their lifesaving medications. It's a disgrace!!" one Democratic user wrote on X. Another wrote: "Where is @DOGE @SenJoniErnst this is unacceptable — why don't you let us decide what we want to pay for — not this."

On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With tech billionaire Elon Musk appointed to head the department, DOGE — previously existing as the United States Digital Service — was the federal government's cost-cutting initiative. In late January 2025, the official DOGE X page posted a breakdown of over $1 billion in federal government savings thanks to the cancellation of diversity, equity, and inclusion contracts.

Soon after, the public was already questioning the agency's focus. "How do you justify this when they are cutting funding to feed hungry children and eliminating cancer research?" one X user asked, referring to Trump's estimated Super Bowl expense, as well as the planned decrease in federal funding toward research and federal food assistance programs. "Where's DOGE? Where's the cutting of unnecessary spending here? They only want to target programs and agencies that actually help people, not Trump's vacations," wrote another.

Neglecting to address the rumors of his expensive trip, Trump's mind was seemingly elsewhere. The president was too busy mocking Taylor Swift, who was booed more than Trump on the night of the prestigious 2025 football game. He may have gotten the last laugh that night, but his Truth Social post only proved that Swift is still Trump's biggest ego threat.