In late February, ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate conducted a sit-down interview with President Donald Trump about college football on his personal show, “Josh Pate’s College Football Show.” The conversation, filmed in Georgia, drew criticism from fans who wondered why the college football expert was wading into politics—and for what many critics called a lack of substantive discussion.
Reflecting on the conversation, however, Pate didn’t appear to regret it.
“There’s some pro and con there, no doubt,” Pate said in a recent interview with Front Office Sports. “You understand this is gonna be really polarizing. But it’s the president asking to sit down one-on-one with you.”
Pate also saw a potential benefit for his fans given that “there’s never been more infusion of federal government [into] college football.”
“This is when you’re hearing rumors of Senate bill and whatnot. And so, you know, you’re having to make the call a couple of weeks ahead of time. Could this serve the greater interest of my audience? I lean enough yes to say yes to the request,” Pate said.
