Trump Says NFL Could Have Postponed First Paris Game as Protests Stretch French Police Thin
US President Donald Trump has expressed scepticism about the National Football League holding its first-ever game in Paris amid protests, saying the league could have postponed the match.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are still set to kick off on Sunday despite the civil unrest, while a Paris Saint-Germain soccer game scheduled for the same day has been postponed.
Paris police requested the postponement of the PSG game because police and security resources are stretched thin due to mass protests, ongoing civil unrest and France's first NFL game happening in the region, according to multiple reports.
The NFL said in a reply to an email from OutKick and Fox News Digital that the PSG game did not impact any potential decision to move the Steelers-Saints game. Trump, however, said the NFL 'could've probably postponed that match.'
'It's looking like tomorrow is going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it. I would've said the NFL could've probably postponed that match... France is really in trouble,' Trump told reporters on Friday.
Trump then took a shot at Democratic policies. 'That's what happens when you go left. That's what happens when you allow unlimited numbers of people into your country from very unfriendly countries,' he said.
The NFL has insisted multiple times this week that Sunday's game in France will be safe to play and safe for fans to attend amid the civil unrest. The Steelers, however, cancelled a fan event in the area.
According to a league source, the topics discussed at a two-hour gathering included security for the game, the readiness of the Stade de France, where the game is to be played, and the growth of flag football in France.
Organizers of the Paris protest told the Associated Press that an administrative court overturned a protest ban issued by police after they challenged it. The Paris prefecture had previously said the ban was necessary given the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with officers, looted shops and torched cars over the weekend.
The organizers signed a police document stating that the protest would remain stationary due to the risk of violence — in other words, accepting a condition to stay in one place rather than march.
Earlier this week, Dani Watt, the wife of Steelers defensive end TJ Watt, publicly questioned why the game had not been moved. 'Tell me how this one makes sense???' she posted.
On Thursday, the NFL told OutKick that its own NFL Fan House event scheduled for Friday and Saturday remains as scheduled. On Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he would attend the game and had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in recent days about moving forward with it. Rubio told OutKick that the American embassy in France believes the game 'will be fine.' Despite Trump's doubts, the position of the league and the embassy is therefore that the game will go ahead as planned.
