(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) In Lafourche Parish, Louisiana—one of the boot state’s southernmost regions, jutting out into the newly renamed Gulf of America—residents of the shrimping- and fishing-based bayou community credit President Donald Trump with having fixed global warming during his first few weeks in office.
A rare blizzard last month blanketed the area with around 8 to 10 inches of snow, the most it has seen since 1895. The last recent snowstorm in the region—during the first year of Trump’s first presidential term, in 2017—landed a distant third in the record books, rivaling a 1940 snow that saw around 3.5 inches.
Trump’s appeal in the deep-red state, which broke for him by 60% to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 38% in last year’s presidential election, has never been in doubt.
Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has arguably been one of the staunchest supporters of the “MAGA” agenda at the state level, with his own push to implement common-sense conservative policies mirroring the Trump administration’s recent “shock and awe” reforms after winning the popular vote, both houses of Congress and all of the major swing states.
But the crossover appeal of Trump’s first few action-packed weeks in office will be put to the test Sunday when he visits New Orleans, which broke for Harris by a margin of 82% to 15%.
Trump is expected to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl, becoming the first president ever to do so, according to the Times–Picayune‘s NOLA.com website.
Many undoubtedly will be watching to see whether he receives a warm or frosty reception as the latest indicator of public approval and support for his policies.
Trump’s presence is likely to upstage that of outspoken leftist songbird Taylor Swift—whose beau, tight end Travis Kelce, will return with the Kansas City Chiefs for their third consecutive appearance and the fifth in six years, again taking on their 2023 opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, the highly anticipated NFL championship also comes amid heightened security concerns following a New Year’s Day massacre by a domestic terrorist on the city’s iconic Bourbon Street.
Likewise, Trump is no stranger to violence following at least two assassination attempts on the campaign trail last year—one of which bloodied his ear and came inches from ending his life.
Democrats this week once more reiterated their calls for political violence, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., controversially urging riotous Trump opponents to “fight it in the streets.”
Chiefs fans have also dealt with public violence after a mass shooting last February, during the team’s Super Bowl victory parade, killed one and injured 22 spectators—including eight children.
And a tragic Jan. 31 jet crash in Philadelphia that left seven dead and others critically injured may have Eagles fans equally on edge, although its causes are presumed to have been accidental.
While New Orleans, which hosts a world-renowned Mardi Gras celebration every year, is no stranger to street closures and other logistical challenges that come with being a tourism hotspot, this perfect storm of factors is sure to lead to extra precautions for both game attendees and local residents.
“Extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement, according to NOLA.com.
“Security measures have been further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event,” he added.
Ahead of next month’s Mardi Gras, the stakes are especially high for the “Big Easy” to reassure tourists that there is no reason for concern—despite criticism of some public-safety officials over the handling of the Jan. 1 attack.
“We’re going above and beyond what we’ve seen in the past when we’ve hosted previously,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said, according to the Associated Press. “We know we’re safer than we’ve ever been before.”
In Kansas City and Philadelphia, measures were also being put in place to ensure public safety in the game’s aftermath.
Nonetheless, some Chiefs fans remained on edge following last year’s parade attack.
“There’s a lot of people that’ll think twice about attending an event like that,” Kansas City resident Branson Albertson told the AP on Thursday, as he, his wife and their kids posed for photos inside a Chiefs-bedecked Union Station—near where last year’s shooting happened.
“But I still think there’ll be a big turnout,” he added.
Sharon Billington, a 63-year-old Chiefs fan who also visited Union Station, told the AP that she planned to watch on TV. She had family at last year’s victory parade and was terrified.
“The world is just not in a position to have that right now,” she said of a large rally.
Philly’s boisterous fans have been known to cause havoc in the streets after big wins, even before concerns about terrorism and mass violence became commonplace.
In 2023, when the Eagles last won a National Football Conference title, a group of people crashed through the hard plastic roof of a bus shelter where they had been dancing, injuring several of them. And a college student was killed last month by falling off a pole following the Eagles’ conference championship.
“The Philadelphia Police Department is on an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure everyone’s safety,” Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said Friday, while sporting a kelly-green suit in a nod to the city’s NFL team.
“Our officers will be out in full force across the city, ready to keep the festivities running smoothly,” he added. “You don’t want to be in a celebratory moment, [and] have a tragedy occur.”
Ben Sellers is the editor emeritus of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
