Trump is traveling to Philadelphia today. Here’s what to know

President Donald Trump is traveling to Philadelphia Saturday, his first trip back to Pennsylvania since winning reelection and returning to the White House.

While it’s Trump’s first trip to Philadelphia since he faced off against Kamala Harris in the final presidential debate on Sept. 10, the city has certainly felt the impact of his administration’s early moves.

Just this week, the federal government froze $175 million in funds to the University of Pennsylvania over the school’s decision to allow transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on the women’s team in 2022. The Trump administration has also moved to cancel at least 17 federal leases in the city, and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has fired federal workers in Philadelphia and slashed dozens of federal contracts.

The impacts are also being felt across Pennsylvania, which Trump won in 2024 by less than two percentage points. In one example, more than 425 popular campsites across the commonwealth are closed indefinitely due to DOGE cuts.

Here’s what we know about Trump’s visit to Philadelphia:

Trump is traveling to the city to attend the NCAA wrestling championships at the Wells Fargo Center. He will be joined by Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), a former West Point wrestler.

It might seem like an odd event for the president to attend, but Trump also traveled to the NCAA wrestling finals in Tulsa, Okla., in 2023. He also welcomed Penn State’s wrestling team onto the stage during a rally at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College in October.

Last month, the NCAA banned transgender athletes from competing in female sports, which has been a major focus of Trump since returning to the White House. Among the first executive orders he signed after taking office was titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” and Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from schools that allow transgender women to play on women’s teams.

Trump has been a frequent visitor to sporting events. He’s a regular at UFC fights and attended both the Daytona 500 and the Super Bowl in New Orleans in February. He plans to welcome the Eagles to the White House on April 28 after having watched their blowout of the Kansas City Chiefs.

“The Eagles were really, it was like flawless football, amazing,” Trump told Philly native Mark Levin on his radio show last month. “Even the first play, they called it back. It was a long pass, it was, you know, either a touchdown or going to be a touchdown. They called it back, completed long pass, and they went on to get touchdown after touchdown. They really played great.”

Trump is scheduled to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport at 6:40 p.m. Saturday, according to his public calendar.

From there, he will travel north to the Wells Fargo Center, where he’s scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m., just in time to catch the championship finals.

Trump is scheduled to return to the airport around 9 p.m. and travel back to the White House, arriving at 10:35 p.m.

With the president in attendance, there will be extra checkpoints and enhanced screening entering the parking lots surrounding the Wells Fargo Center, according to a spokesperson. The arena’s normal bag-screening policies will remain in effect.

Fans attending both sessions Saturday are encouraged to remain on site to avoid having to re-enter the parking lot, where large delays are expected.

Trump’s visit to Philadelphia isn’t expected to have much impact on traffic.

Drivers can expect rolling closures on I-95 as the president travels back and forth from the airport. There could also be minor backups at the Wells Fargo Center as Trump’s motorcade arrives and departs for the event, according to a police spokesperson.

The last time the NCAA wrestling championships were held in Philadelphia was 2011. Over 100,000 fans flocked to the Wells Fargo Center for the three-day event, capped by Penn State winning its first national championship.

“The best high school wrestlers in America come out of Pennsylvania, including the Greater Philadelphia area,” Drexel coach Matt Azevedo told The Inquirer. “There was a time when wrestling lived in the Midwest, but East Coast is where it’s at now.”

Here’s a rundown of future NCAA wrestling championship dates and sites:

Indivisible Philadelphia, a progressive activist group, is planning a “peaceful sidewalk protest” of Trump’s visit Saturday evening between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. along Pattison Avenue between Broad Street and South 11th Street.