President Donald Trump received a roaring reception, complete with chants of “USA! USA!” during the final rounds of the 2024-25 NCAA wrestling championships on Saturday.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who spoke to Trump at the event, says it’s evidence of the crowd’s “love” and “respect” for a president who “fight[s] for them.” 
“They respect a fighter. That’s right at President Trump’s base, and he couldn’t have been more at home in that crowd than myself or any other wrestler that was participating there,” he said Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
TRUMP RECEIVES RAUCOUS WELCOME AT NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS: CHAMP IS HERE
President Donald Trump pumps his fist at the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Fox & Friends Weekend/Screengrab)
Mullin attended the event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia along with other Trump allies, including Elon Musk, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Education Secretary and former WWE executive Linda McMahon.
There, Trump approached Mullin and commented on the crowd’s enthusiasm.
“He says, ‘They absolutely love me here, don’t they?’ I said, ‘Sir, they do.’ He said, ‘Why do you think that?’ I said, ‘Sir, every male in this building, and I’d say a lot of females in this building have been punched in the face. We’re wrestling fans… they respect a fighter, and they respect you,'” Mullin recalled.
“He shows every single day that he’s for the people and from the people… If Joe Biden could walk in that room and get a chant like that, they would of been chanting, ya know, I don’t know, ‘Let’s go Brandon,’ but… when President Trump walked in there, they were chanting USA because every single day they know that he’s up there, fighting for them,” he added.
Trump’s presence marked the second time in three years he has attended the NCAA wrestling championships. He also attended in 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.
