Trump brings political drama to Army-Navy game sidelines

Penny was found not guilty in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely in New York City earlier this week, a decision which was criticized by some commentators on the left and underscored a divide between crime and mental health.

Hegseth is still battling it out to secure his nomination for the top defense role and the dynamics of his appearance will be interesting given Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will also be in attendance. 

DeSantis at one point was touted as a possible replacement for Hegseth, although it is unclear if he will be seated with Trump in a suite.  

Hegseth's appearance will mark a very public declaration of support from Trump, as some senators are still holding out on committing to his confirmation. 

Hegseth, an Army National Guard and former longtime Fox News host, deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been the focus of misconduct reports.

Meanwhile, Vance took a swipe at New York City prosecutors for taking on the case in a post on X confirming Penny's attendance.

"Daniel's a good guy, and New York's mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone," Vance wrote. "I'm grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he's able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage." 

Trump attended the game as president in 2018, 2019 and 2020, while he also appeared as president-elect in 2016.

President Biden has never attended the annual clash as president, although he did appear as vice president.

Fox News' Aishah Hasnie, Paulina Dedaj and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.