- Trump and Musk attend the Wrestling Championship in their latest appearance together outside DOGE.
- The NCAA Wrestling Championship is a major college event with top national wrestlers.
- Their joint appearance drew cheers from supporters but also boos from critics.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear to have a new shared interest that’s not government efficiency: wrestling.
The president and Tesla CEO were seen together on Saturday in Philadelphia for the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championship, an annual college tournament featuring the nation’s top wrestlers.
Trump entered the Wells Fargo Center and shook hands with several members of the crowd to mostly cheers — and some boos — before chants rang round of “U-S-A.”
Outside the arena, several dozen protesters had gathered along Pattison Avenue, holding signs saying “Save our democracy” and “No fascists.”
Wyatt Hendrickson defeated Olympic gold medalist and two-time champ Gable Steveson to win the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship.
Trump congratulated both wrestlers after the fight and shook their hands.
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said he’s “always supported the wrestlers.”
Musk said in a Sunday X post, “The NCAA wrestling heavyweight championship match was amazing fighting between two super talented men!”
It’s the pair’s latest public appearance together outside Musk’s work for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
They both attended UFC 309 at Madison Square Gardens in November after Trump’s election victory.
Earlier that month, Musk played Golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, according to a social media post from Kai Trump, the president’s granddaughter. She captioned the post, “Elon achieving uncle status.”
Trump has also attended a SpaceX rocket launch and, more recently, promoted Tesla cars in front of the White House alongside Musk.
Their alliance has not been without backlash over DOGE’s widespread layoffs and job losses across the government and withdrawal of funding for some departments.
