Former President Donald Trump attended the Alabama vs. Georgia college football game on Saturday, where he was met with loud cheers and chants of “USA!” from the crowd. Trump waved to supporters in attendance and, at one point, playfully tossed boxes of popcorn to people in the concourse of Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama.

Trump’s appearance at the game came shortly after a campaign speech in Wisconsin, where he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her handling of the ongoing migrant crisis, calling her “mentally impaired.” On Truth Social, Trump posted before the game, “Left Wisconsin, where illegal migrants are causing havoc. I’ll take care of that situation, and fast! Just arrived in Alabama for big game with Georgia. Will be GREAT!!!” 

In response to Trump’s attendance, the Associated Press published an article condemning his recent comments on immigration, describing them as “dark rhetoric.” The AP noted that some University of Alabama fans, aware of Trump’s presence, playfully wore stickers and buttons that read “They’re eating the Dawgs!”—a reference to both the Alabama Crimson Tide playing the Georgia Bulldogs and Trump’s previous comments about Haitian migrants during a debate in Springfield. 

The AP article expressed disapproval of Trump’s popularity among the game’s attendees, stating, “Trump’s brand of populist nationalism leans heavily on his dark rendering of America as a failing nation abused by elites and overrun by black and brown immigrants. But his supporters, especially white cultural conservatives, hear in that rhetoric an optimistic patriotism encapsulated by the slogan on his movement’s ubiquitous red hats.”

The article further criticized fans who cheered for Trump despite his immigration remarks, concluding, “What seemed to matter most was a friendly home crowd’s opportunity to cheer for Trump the same way they cheered the Crimson Tide, unburdened by anything he said in Wisconsin or anywhere else as he makes an increasingly dark closing argument.”

Despite the condemnation, the GOP nominee appeared to have widespread support among the game attendees throughout the event. Trump came as a guest of Alabama businessman and Mar-a-Lago member Ric Mayers Jr., who pointed out that Trump is a longtime sports fan and explained he had invited Trump for a warm welcome to the game. When the former president was introduced on the large screen before the crowd of over 100,000 fans, the crowd erupted into applause as Trump smiled and pumped his fist in a similar fashion to when he survived an assassination attempt last July.