President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on Oct. 3, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
By Nick Givas October 9, 2026 at 2:19pm
President Donald Trump will not attend Saturday’s college football rivalry matchup between Alabama and Georgia because of Hurricane Isaias.
The White House confirmed Trump’s plans on Friday, according to an Outkick report, as Trump also addressed his absence on Truth Social.
“Based on the fact that a huge Hurricane/Storm is coming, it is important to have our wonderful First Responders, Law Enforcement, and others, focused on that Storm, and in no way be thinking about the safety, or presence, of the President of the United States, ME!” he wrote.
“Therefore, I will miss that potentially unbelievable Game, Alabama vs. Georgia but, hopefully, the Game will go on despite the weather! I will be visiting both of those Teams at a later date.”
Trump added that he will attend a midterm election rally in place of the game.
“Instead, I will go to Tennessee, where we have quickly called a Big Rally in order to get our fantastic Congressional Candidates, our Great Senator, Bill Hagerty, and a woman who will go down as one of the most impactful Governors in the State’s History, Marsha Blackburn, elected!” he declared.
What do you think about Trump’s decision to skip the game due to Hurricane Isaias?
Various college football teams have already rescheduled games in response to the storm, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Friday evening.
Additionally, ESPN’s “College GameDay” said it will broadcast indoors at the Tuscaloosa campus to avoid extreme weather conditions.
Both undefeated teams are ranked in the top 10 and are considered national title contenders.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis urged state residents who are in the path of the Category 3 storm to evacuate as it continues to build momentum in the Gulf of America.
“You have final hours to be able to exercise your plan for preparation. If you have been given instructions to evacuate… please heed those instructions,” he said during a Friday news conference held at the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center.
“You do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles. You don’t have to evacuate so that you have no impact from the storm at all.” DeSantis added.
“The shelters will be able to withstand the hurricane-force winds. Other places that are not in low-lying areas will be able to get through the storm without being inundated by storm surge. So you can evacuate tens of miles… You do what you think is best.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers a direct message to Floridians in vulnerable coastal zones: “You have final hours to be able to exercise your plan for preparation. If you have been given instructions to evacuate… please heed those instructions.” https://t.co/gl3hzc8D5P
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 9, 2026
The governor said that Isaias had sustained winds around 120 miles per hour and warned that in addition to storm surge, flooding, and tornadoes, major power issues should also be expected.
“Hide from the wind, but you run from the water,” DeSantis declared, calling storm surge the biggest threat to human life.
The National Hurricane Center’s website described storm surge as “danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline.”
It added that the “combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.”
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Nick Givas has been a reporter for The Daily Caller, Fox News, and served as Managing Editor of the Newsroom at Project Veritas. He’s also hosted three different podcasts, served as a Congressional Communications Director, and had his work featured in The Federalist, Daily Signal, New York Post, and Real Clear Politics.
