BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump attended the NCAA wrestling championships on Saturday night for the second time in three years, the latest example of how he has mostly limited travel early in his new term to trips built around sports events.
Trump arrived at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to loud cheers and a standing ovation. He pumped his fists amid chants of “U-S-A!” As the matches occurred, Trump stood near the action and personally congratulated most of the winning wrestlers. Hours later, he left the arena, shaking hands along the way as the crowd roared.
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President Donald Trump, left, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., second from left, and Elon Musk, third from right, attend the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump, left, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., second from left, and Elon Musk, third from right, attend the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump, left, and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., attend the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Wrestlers compete in the NCAA wrestling championships, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Republican president spent Friday night at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, about 70 miles northeast of Philadelphia, on what was his first visit there of his second term.
“We’re going to the big fight," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday evening. “I’ve always supported the wrestlers.” He added, “These are the great college wrestlers from the various schools.”
Trump traveled with billionaire and top adviser Elon Musk. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin greeted the president as he arrived at the Philadelphia airport. Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan were also at the arena sitting in the same section as Musk and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
In the two-plus months since returning to the White House, Trump attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in Florida, where his motorcade drove a portion of the track. While president-elect he went to a UFC fight in New York.
That’s more travel for sports than for policy announcements or official duties, though a long January swing took Trump to tour damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and wildfires in Los Angeles. He then gave a speech and visited the floor of Las Vegas’ Circa Resort & Casino before heading to Doral, Florida, to address a House Republican policy conference.
Trump has long built his public and political persona around sporting events, and relishes turning up at live events to hear cheers from the crowd, even if some in attendance boo him. He also has signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports — an action which he points to frequently to fire up his core supporters.
The president played football as a student at the New York Military Academy. As a New York businessman in the early 1980s, he owned the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League.
Trump had sued to force a merger of the USFL and the NFL. The USFL eventually folded.
During an interview on Air Force One with “Outkick the Show” podcast host Clay Travis on Saturday night, Trump was asked about the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles being set to visit the White House, after not doing so following their Super Bowl win in 2018.
That year, Trump said he was rescinding the team's invitation after some players indicated that they planned to boycott.
“It’s a great honor to come,” Trump said.
The president said he also planned to host the Kansas City Chiefs after the Eagles, saying that the visit would make up for one that couldn’t happen when the Chiefs won the 2020 Super Bowl because of the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s despite Trump’s predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden, having hosted the Chiefs after they won the title in 2023, a visit that was considered as also making up for the missed White House stop in 2020.
“They missed their turn because of COVID,” Trump said of the Chiefs.
The president has used most Saturdays and Sundays to play golf at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, though he also sometimes remained in Washington to give weekend speeches.
Trump was a candidate for reelection when he went to the 2023 NCAA wrestling championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
During the in-flight interview, Trump was asked about his administration's release of thousands of files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and he conceded that they didn't contain many startling new revelations.
“I think the papers have turned out to be somewhat unspectacular," Trump said. "And maybe that’s a good thing.”
Associated Press writers Mark Scolforo in Philadelphia and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump, left, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., second from left, and Elon Musk, third from right, attend the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump, left, and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., attend the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Philadelphia International Airport, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump attends the finals at the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Wrestlers compete in the NCAA wrestling championships, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projects that Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre will lose his own seat in Parliament.
The loss of his seat representing an Ottawa district during Monday’s election would cap a stunning decline in fortunes for the firebrand Poilievre, who only a few months ago appeared to be a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and to shepherd the Conservatives back into power for the first time in a decade, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada and suggestions it should become the 51st state outraged voters and upended the election.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.
After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn’t immediately clear, though, if they would win an outright majority — at least 172 — or would need to rely on one of the smaller parties to pass legislation.
The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.
In a victory speech before supporters in Ottawa, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington's threats. He also said the mutually beneficial system Canada and the U.S. had shared since World War II had ended.
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he said.
“As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country," Carney said. "These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ... ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”
The Conservative Party's leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister.
In a concession speech and with his own House of Commons seat still in doubt, Poilievre vowed to keep fighting for Canadians.
“We are cognizant of the fact that we didn't get over the finish line yet," Poilievre told supporters in Ottawa. "We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that's why we have to learn the lessons of tonight — so that we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future of the country.”
Even with Canadians grappling with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street festival, Trump was trolling them on election day, suggesting again on social media that Canada should become the 51st state and saying he was on their ballot. He also erroneously claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada, writing, “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
Trump’s truculence has infuriated Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.
As Poilievre and his wife cast their ballots in Ottawa, he implored voters to “Get out to vote — for a change." After running a Trump-lite campaign for weeks, though, the Conservative leader's similarities to the bombastic American might have cost him.
Reid Warren, a Toronto resident, said he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he said Trump’s tariffs are a worry.
“Canadians coming together from, you know, all the shade being thrown from the States is great, but it’s definitely created some turmoil, that’s for sure,” he said.
Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre appealed to the “same sense of grievance” as Trump, but that it ultimately worked against him.
“The Liberals ought to pay him," Bothwell said, referring to the U.S. president. "Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives.”
Carney and the Liberals secured a new term, but they have daunting challenges ahead.
If they don't win a majority in Parliament, the Liberals might need rely on one of the smaller parties to remain in power and pass legislation. The Bloc Québécois, which looked set to finish third, is a separatist party from French-speaking Quebec that seeks independence from Canada. Trudeau’s Liberals relied on the New Democrats to remain in power for four years, but the progressive party faired poorly on Monday and its leader, Jagmeet Singh, said he was stepping down after eight years in charge.
“This is a dramatic comeback, but if the Liberals cannot win a majority of seats, political uncertainty in a new minority Parliament could complicate things for them,” said McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland.
Until this year, foreign policy hadn’t dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988, when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the prevailing issue.
In addition to the trade war with the U.S. and frosty relationship with Trump, Canada is dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. And more than 75% of its exports go to the U.S., so Trump's tariffs threat and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canada's production south could severely damage the Canadian economy.
While campaigning, Carney vowed that every dollar the the government collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers who are adversely affected by the trade war. He also said he plans to keep dental care in place, offer a middle-class tax cut, return immigration to sustainable levels and increase funding to Canada's public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Associated Press reporter Mike Householder contributed to this report.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, dances to Canadian band Down With Webster as they play live at campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, dances to Canadian band Down With Webster as they play live from campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacts with wife Diana Fox Carney on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney react on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida gesture following his speech at his campaign headquarters on election night, in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses supporters at Liberal campaign headquarters in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida Poilievre wave as they leave the stage Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney embraces his wife Diana Fox Carney before addressing supporters at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to address supporters at his campaign headquarters on election night in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to address supporters at his campaign headquarters on election night in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to supporters on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to supporters on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Justin Tang//The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to supporters on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh addresses supporters accompanied by his wife Gurkiran Kaur at his campaign headquarters on election night, in Burnaby, B.C., Monday, April 28, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks to supporters on election night, in Montreal, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, center left, greets supporters on election night, in Montreal, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh kisses his wife Gurkiran Kaur as he pauses while addressing supporters on election night, in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney greets attendees as he arrives to address supporters at his campaign headquarters on election night in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters with his wife Anaida Poilievre at his campaign headquarters on election night, in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida Poilievre kiss at his campaign headquarters on election night, in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, center, walks with his wife Gurkiran Kaur as he arrives to address supporters on election night, in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida at his campaign headquarters on election night, in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney smiles on stage at his campaign headquarters after the Liberal Party won the Canadian election in Ottawa, Ontario, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's new Prime Minister and Liberal Leader Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney take in the results on election night in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party's supporters cheer on results at the party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's new Prime Minister and Liberal Leader Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney take in the results on election night in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party's supporters cheer on results at the party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party's supporters cheer on results at the party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party supporters cheer on results at the party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
A voting sign stands near a memorial for victims after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Voters line up at a polling location at the Collingwood Neighbourhood House in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Diana Fox Carney, left, votes in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh arrives for a sign waving campaign event with Port Moody-Coquitlam NDP candidate Bonita Zarrillo and volunteers on election day, in Port Moody, British Columbia, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
A sign for a federal election voting center stands near the memorial for the victims of a driver who rammed into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Canada's new Prime Minister and Liberal Leader Mark Carney casts his vote in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, right, and his wife Anaida Poilievre cast their votes in the federal election in Ottawa, Canada, Monday, April 28, 2025 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives in Ottawa, Canada, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives in Ottawa, Canada, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Elections Canada signage is seen as voters arrive at a polling station on Election Day in Halifax, Canada, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes an announcement during a tour of Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on Friday, April 25, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney holds a rally beside the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney holds a rally beside the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a rally in Oakville, Ontario, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - A digital bill board flashes a message in Kennedy Township, Pa., March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the start of the a plenary session at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a campaign rally in Delta, British Columbia, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Rich Lam /The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - Toronto residents Douglas Bloomfield, left, and his son Phoenix, right, hold a Canadian flag and an ice hockey stick to show their support for Canada regarding trade tariffs as they pose with with another visitor to the city wearing a mask of President Donald Trump in front of the White House in Washington, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
