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Trump Presents the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the Navy Midshipmen, Mar. 20, 2026

March 20, 2026 · The White House · 0:36:21

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump presented the Commander in Chief’s Trophy to the Navy Midshipmen football team at the White House on March 20, 2026 — “for the second year in a row, it’s my great honor to officially present the Commander in Chief’s Trophy to the one and only Navy Midshipman Football Team.” He credited the team’s 11 wins and two losses, “playing the best teams in football,” as “one of the most impressive seasons in Navy football history.”

The President recognized Navy athletic director Michael Kelly and head coach Brian Newberry, and singled out players including wide receiver Eli Heidenreich, who he said set school records for receiving touchdowns, and senior lineman and co-captain Landon Robertson, a first-team All-American on five organizations’ lists, as the President stated them. He opened the ceremony with an update on the Iran operation, saying of Iran’s navy: “they had a navy two weeks ago. They have no navy anymore… 58 ships knocked down in two days,” as he stated it.

Why it matters

The trophy presentation is the service-academy honor the President has made an annual White House occasion, and this year’s ceremony doubled as a status report on the war — the athletic celebration framed by the administration’s account of the naval campaign. It is recorded on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub.

Scoreboard watch

The President’s figures for the Iran naval campaign (58 ships in two days, as he stated them) are recorded here for the weekly scoreboard.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in the Commander in Chief Trophy Presentation,” The White House, March 20, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President at the ceremony.