President Donald Trump rarely lets a big sporting event pass without weighing in.
His latest outing was no exception as he let his intrusive thoughts about trained athletes slip out.
Since returning to office, Trump has made sporting events a regular stop on his public schedule. He has attended championship games. He has praised star athletes. And he has rarely hesitated to say who he thinks has the makings of a winner.
This time, a young quarterback caught his eye. Asked about the player’s future, the president seemed less impressed by the game tape than by the family tree.
His latest outing gave him another chance to play talent scout. Once again, his assessment wandered from the field to the family tree.
Trump attended Saturday’s game at Neyland Stadium, where Arch Manning’s Texas Longhorns faced Tennessee.
During a live interview, Clay Travis reminded the president that he had watched Peyton and Eli Manning play. Travis then asked what he thought of their nephew Arch Manning so far. Did Trump believe the college quarterback could become a good NFL player?
“Well, he’s already looking really good,” Trump replied. “I know the brothers, and they’re fantastic. They’re fantastic people. Great quarterbacks and great football players.”
Then Trump delivered the compliment that made the interview about more than football.
“He’s got great genetics, I would say,” the president said. “If you’re gonna go for genetics, you can’t do much better.” Only then did he return to Arch’s performance: “And he’s playing pretty well today.”
It was quite the scouting report. Peyton and Eli earned praise for their careers, while Arch got credit for sharing their DNA, along with a brief acknowledgment of his own ability. Texas beat Tennessee 20-17, with the younger Manning finishing with 201 passing yards.
Online, the genetics remark produced its own reaction.
“Arch got the Trump curse now,” one person wrote on X. A second X user responded saying, “Wow. He can’t help himself.”
“No one will ever say Trump has good genetics. I mean, have you seen photos of his parents and grandfather?
On Yahoo Sports, one reader questioned whether a famous bloodline predicts success: “Chad Kelly had great genetics too. And so did Eric Trump. How good that work out?”
Another said, “Disaster Donald’s genes produced Don Jr.”
This was no one-time slip from a president searching for a football term.
Trump made a similar argument for Shedeur Sanders during the 2025 NFL draft.
As the quarterback waited to be selected, Trump asked on Truth Social, “What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” He cited Deion Sanders’ playing career and declared that his son had “PHENOMENAL GENES.”
Trump said a team that wanted to win should pick Shedeur immediately.
Asked later by radio host Hugh Hewitt why he had intervened, Trump offered more than football analysis.
He said Deion was a Trump fan who had spoken nicely about him. Then he returned to heredity.
“Do you believe in genetics? And so do I,” Trump said. He called Shedeur talented, said he had “good genes for a football player” and added, “I like his gene pool.”
Trump has applied the same reasoning to hockey.
At a ceremony honoring the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, he questioned former NHL player Ryan Suter how he compared with his father, Bob.
After hearing that Ryan had played 21 seasons in the NHL, Trump told him, “But you’ve got good genetics.” He made another remark about “good genetics” while discussing Rep. Pete Stauber and his brother, former NHL goaltender Robb Stauber.
Trump made a similar remark about “good genetics” while discussing Minnesota Congressman Pete Stauber — himself a former NCAA hockey champion — and his brother Robb, a former NHL goaltender and Olympic gold-medal-winning head coach.
His commentary has followed younger people away from sports, too.
In August, Trump hosted 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams after the teenager helped save a child from dangerous surf. Trump looked at Ryder’s mother, Shannon, and praised her son’s appearance.
“It’s good genetics when you look at him,” he told her. The teenager’s act of courage briefly competed with comments about his appearance.
Trump has also placed himself in the story. At an August ceremony honoring the Artemis II astronauts, he invoked his late uncle, MIT scientist John Trump, while explaining his own interest in space.
“I guess we have genetically, we sort of, I believe in that stuff,” he said. That same month, he reposted a graphic claiming his work on the White House was “in his DNA.”
Even Donald Trump Jr. found a way into the family’s genes discourse.
During the 2025 backlash over Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle “jeans” and “genes” campaign, he shared an AI-generated image of his father dressed in denim and called him “so hot right now.”
The post drew criticism from social media users who questioned the image and its connection to the ad.
Arch Manning will get more chances to answer questions about his NFL prospects with his play. Trump answered one such question by talking twice about what Arch inherited.
That is becoming a more revealing measure of the president’s interests than of any athlete’s potential.
Full interview with President @realDonaldTrump from Neyland Stadium. pic.twitter.com/wchzibCa9v
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 26, 2026
