The only undefeated team in the NFL kept that streak alive this week, but some fans just aren’t in a celebratory mood. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime on Monday, making their record an unblemished 8–0. On Wednesday afternoon, tight end Travis Kelce celebrated the win on Instagram, posting a carousel of photos of the Chiefs in action at Arrowhead Stadium — and a host of commenters just weren’t having it.
Donald Trump defeating Kamala Harris on Tuesday appears to have made many fans less-than-receptive to Trav’s latest victory lap — even fans of the best team in the NFL. When Kelce made the post, much of the country was reeling after Trump not only won handily, but improved upon his 2020 performance, in red and blue states alike.
So even a politically neutral post like Kelce’s — which was simply captioned “Arrowhead at night” — became a mini-forum for an election night post-mortem, with a surprising number of followers calling Taylor Swift’s boyfriend out.
Kelce fails to read the room
“Trav I love you but pls read the room” read one comment, followed by several other calls for the three-time Super Bowl winner to “read the room.” “Travis pls not right now we’re mourning,” read another comment, while one fan reminded Trav, “not everything is about you FYI.”
A lot of commenters mentioned Swift, who endorsed Kamala Harris in September, with one asking, “You and Taylor leaving the country yet?” Kelce, for his part, never made a public endorsement, and the apolitical nature of the post prompted plenty of fans to come to his defense, with one writing, “It’s amazing some of you people really think the world stopped spinning.”
But on November 3, Kelce did “like” a Instagram post from his manager’s girlfriend endorsing Kamala Harris, which counts in the eyes of many online, considering his pop star girlfriend’s BFF got a lot of flak for a similar reason.
A WAG defends differing views
Taylor Swift was at Arrowhead on Monday for the nail-biter, watching the game with friend and fellow Chiefs WAG Brittany Mahomes, wife of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Brittany caused a stir in August when she “liked” a Trump post all about the “2024 GOP platform,” plus a few pro-Trump comments. Mahomes fired back via Instagram Stories, posting, “Contrary to the tone of the world today … you can disagree with someone, and still love them. You can have differing views, and still be kind. Read that again!”
Trump took notice, shouting Brittany out on Truth Social in September, posting, in part, “I want to thank beautiful Brittany Mahomes for so strongly defending me. … What a great couple — See you both at the Super Bowl!”
Like Travis Kelce, and unlike his wife Brittany, Patrick Mahomes has also largely stayed out of the political fray, refusing to endorse either candidate. In April, he told Time magazine, “I don’t want to pressure anyone to vote for a certain president. I want people to use their voice, whoever they believe in. I want them to do the research.” But Patrick’s mother, Randi, hasn’t been shy about her support of the soon-to-be 47th president.
An NFL mom goes full MAGA
Before the Chiefs eked out their 30–24 midseason win against the Buccaneers — the night before Election Day — Randi Mahomes posted a video from Arrowhead Stadium of her wearing a red “MAGA” hat to match her red Chiefs sweatshirt. In the clip, posted by OutKick’s Clay Travis, Randi cheered, “Make America great again. Let’s do it. Woo!”
The Chiefs will be back in Arrowhead on November 10, 2024 to defend their perfect record, hosting the Denver Broncos. If they manage a third straight Super Bowl win in January, they’ll later commemorate the victory at the White House, as is customary.
In June 2023, Mahomes and Kelce presented President Joe Biden with his own Chiefs jersey. In 2025, they just might repeat the ritual with Donald Trump — a photo op sure to further upset left-leaning football fans in the wake of his inauguration in January.
