Trump bars broadcast of other football games during Army-Navy contest

President Trump signed an executive order that prevents any football games from being broadcast simultaneously with the annual Army-Navy matchup. 

Mr. Trump said it was necessary to preserve one of the country’s top sporting traditions. The order sets aside a four-hour broadcast window on the second Saturday of December when only the Army-Navy game can be aired on TV.

“The annual Army-Navy game is truly one of the most special occasions in all of sports, but in recent years the College Football Playoff expansion has encroached on this sacred four-hour time slot traditionally reserved for Army-Navy,” Mr. Trump said in the White House East Room.

Mr. Trump said the tradition transcends football, so no other teams — even powerhouses like Ohio State and Notre Dame — should be playing at the same time.

“Nobody’s going to play football for four hours during that very special time in December,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s preserved forever for the Army-Navy game.”

The president signed the order on Friday after presenting the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Navy Midshipmen football team at a White House ceremony.

The trophy is awarded annually to the team that wins the college football series among the Army, Navy and Air Force academies.

This was the second year in a row that the Navy clinched the trophy after beating Army 17-16 in December at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

“I just want to congratulate the Midshipmen. I met ’em backstage, and they’re great,” Mr. Trump said.

The president paid his tribute to the Midshipmen amid the Iran war.

He has significantly increased the U.S. naval presence in the region, deploying at least 16 warships, two aircraft carriers and tens of thousands of service members.

“We’re doing extremely well in Iran,” Mr. Trump said, boasting that the military destroyed Iran’s ships. “We’re not going to let them have nuclear weapons.”

Mr. Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would have been at the ceremony, but he had to monitor the war in the White House Situation Room.

The president said most of Iran’s leaders have been killed.

“We want to talk to them, and there’s nobody to talk to,” Mr. Trump said. “We like it that way.”

The annual Army-Navy football game has been a high priority for Mr. Trump. He attended the game last year for the seventh time as president.

He was on the field ahead of the game and stood with service members during the national anthem and watched a military flyover. He also participated in the coin flip and watched the game from a box reserved for presidents.

At halftime, he took part in the traditional crossing over to the opposite side of the stadium to spend equal time with both teams.