Aaron Rodgers appears to ignore Donald Trump at UFC 302

Tyler Greenawalt

Aaron Rodgers appears to ignore Donald Trump at UFC 302 image

Aaron Rodgers didn't look too impressed when Donald Trump walked by him at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The New York Jets quarterback ignored the former president when Trump walked by Rodgers before Saturday night's fight. Rodgers attended the event alongside former Packers teammate Mercedes Lewis.

UFC 302: Highlights and results

Trump, meanwhile, was recently found guilty of 34 counts following his hush-money case in New York City.


Later in the night, though, Rodgers posted a photo of him shaking Trump’s hand. 

Rodgers' political affiliation is no secret. He has been a vocal supporter of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and was even being considered for RFK Jr.'s vice presidential running mate during his election campaign. Rodgers later admitted he thought about joining the ticket but because he didn't want to retire from football yet, he turned down the opportunity.

The Jets quarterback has made his rounds since he joined the team a year ago. Rodgers attended concerts, awards ceremonies and other sporting events in the Big Apple during the past year in New York.

UFC 302 was chock full of other celebrities as well, but Rodgers and Trump were perhaps the biggest. Islam Makhachev beat Dustin Poirier in the main event. Poirier was 2-2 in his past four fights before Saturday, including a win over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299. Makhachev has won seven wins since 2021 before Saturdays’s win,  including two consecutive over UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Tyler Greenawalt

Tyler Greenawalt Photo

 

Tyler Greenawalt is a contributing writer for The Sporting News after stops at Yahoo Sports, USA Today Sports and Turner Sports. He’s worked in written, video, social media and augmented reality content since he graduated from Syracuse University in 2014. His favorite teams – the New York Jets, Orlando Magic and Tottenham Hotspur – always find new and exciting ways to disappoint him, and he consistently questions his fandom. You can follow his bad sports takes at @TyGreen14 on X.