How Barrasso Convinced Trump To Speak At UW Border War Game

Donald Trump didn’t take up U.S. Sen. John Barrasso’s invitation to attend Saturday’s Border War football game between the University of Wyoming and rival Colorado State University, but the president recorded a message touting Wyoming’s coal industry that was played on the video board at War Memorial Stadium before kickoff.

The Cowboys also wore all-black uniforms in honor of the state’s coal industry, marking the first time in school history the team had worn colors other than brown and gold. 

UW won in a  28-0 shutout of the Rams in the 117th Border War game to claim the coveted Bronze Boot traveling trophy. 

While Trump could not attend the game because he’s traveling in Asia, he wished both teams luck and in the 48-second video and expressed his support for coal.

“Hello everybody, you’re great people, unbelievable people, and you love clean, beautiful coal and so do I,” Trump said, seated behind his desk in the Oval Office. “It’s great to be with you even though I would love to be there in person to watch the great game, because it’s going to be a great game between the Cowboys and the Rams.”

Trump promised to watch the game “if I can sneak a peek.” 

The president also promised he would visit War Memorial Stadium in person in the future.

“I’ll get there one day, that I promise,” Trump said. 

He closed by wishing both teams well and encouraging fans to enjoy the game.

The 29,000 fans at the game were pleasantly surprised with the message, Barrasso said.

“The crowd went wild,” he said. “Lots of applause, lots of cheers. And then when he actually said ‘War Memorial Stadium,’ which is of course the name of the stadium at the University of Wyoming, more cheers and more applause and lots of yelling. It was really, really well received by everyone that was there.”

Barrasso’s Invite

Barrasso wrote a letter to Trump on Oct. 3 in which he recognized the president’s commitment to coal and invited him to attend the game in person along with U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Rep. Harriet Hageman and Gov. Mark Gordon.

“You will receive a hero’s welcome,” Barrasso wrote in his letter. “Last year’s election shows that no state supports you more than Wyoming.”

Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that Trump had initially shown interest in attending the game.

“I invited him and at the same time I handed him a letter so he would have it to remind him and his staff that this was coming up,” Barrasso said. “He said, ‘I’ll look at it strongly,’ which means he’s seriously considering it.”

A potential Trump visit to Laramie was delayed by his visit to Asia this week, where he is announcing peace and trade deals with several countries. 

Barrasso said he decided during a lunchtime meeting in the White House’s Rose Garden to ask Trump to make the video message instead.

The potential for Trump to visit War Memorial Stadium in the future would be a huge moment for the state, the senator said.

“The people of Wyoming really do, as I travel the state, have a very, very positive views and so much support for President Trump,” he said. “We would love to have him.”

‘Going Nuts’

Wyoming football superfan Sally Ann Shurmur told Cowboy State Daily she was caught off guard by the message and could hardly hear Trump’s words over the crowd’s response.

“It was a total complete surprise and the crowd was so loud that I literally didn’t hear anything,” she said. “They did have captions up there, but I’m so blind I couldn’t see those either.”

The message was received well by the students, Shurmur said, despite Laramie being one of the politically bluer cities in the state.

“Considering it was a college-aged crowd, I though they were very respectful,” she said. 

Joe Glode of Saratoga told Cowboy State Daily the environment at the game made Trump’s message all the more exciting.

“The full house crowd made the stadium really fun,” he wrote via email. “When Trump came on, that really lit up that huge crowd.”

Glode acknowledged that some online described the crowd response to Trump’s message as “booing” him, but he said he did not hear any boos.

“You could barely hear what he was saying because the crowd was going nuts,” he said.

University of Wyoming spokesperson Chad Baldwin characterized the crowd response as “primarily cheering,” adding that the university is thankful to have received Trump’s message.

“We’re honored that President Trump recognized the Border War, the university, Wyoming’s coal industry and the people of Wyoming in a video that aired during the game,” Baldwin wrote via email. “The Border War is one of the great rivalry games in college sports with a long and colorful history, and we’re delighted that the president of the United States saw fit to record a video for this year’s contest.”

In addition to the message from Trump and the blackout uniforms, the team was led onto the field before kickoff by a group of Wyoming coal miners.

Coal Is King

Trump in April signed several executive orders to revitalize the nation’s declining coal industry. He specifically called out Wyoming’s congressional delegation for fiercely defending the state’s coal production.

Trump called coal cheap, “incredibly efficient” and virtually indestructible, adding “you could drop a bomb on it and it’s there for you to use the next day.”

The president in September announced he was opening more than 13 million acres of federal land to coal leases and infusing $625 million into U.S. coal mining. Governor Gordon cheered that decision as a major victory for the state.

“Extending the life of coal-fired power plants is good for consumers, grid reliability, and coal communities,” Gordon said in a statement. “Wyoming is poised for a win-win-win with these new policies. 

"Our production is strong and will get stronger — at the same time as national and international consumers clamor for clean energy, our product best meets those needs.”

Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.