Kendrick Lamar's ESPN halftime show not at same venue Trump might attend

The College Football Playoff National Championship is this Monday (1/8) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and airing live on ESPN at 8 PM Eastern, and for the first time ever, the game will have a halftime performer: Kendrick Lamar.

Given Kendrick’s performance and the fact that White House officials told CNN and USA Today that Trump is expected to attend the game, you may have seen headlines like “Trump To Attend Kendrick Lamar Concert.” That’s not exactly true, as the original press release announcing Kendrick’s performance points out that he is actually playing in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, which is located near the stadium where the game is being played, but it means attendees of the game won’t be attending his performance (unless they walk over from the stadium, if that’s even possible). Maybe they’ll have it playing on screens.

Meanwhile, not sure what Trump thinks about college football but we know he doesn’t hold back from giving his outrageous opinions on NFL players (and has done so as recently as this morning). White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the two teams playing the Championship (University of Alabama and University of Georgia) are “two great teams from two great states, both in the heart of Trump country.” Meanwhile, as NY Mag reminds us, Trump said Atlanta is in “horrible shape,” “falling apart,” and “crime infested” just one year ago.

Trump will also be “announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!” That’s just three hours before the game starts. So is Trump’s expected appearance fake news anyway? I guess we’ll see.

Kendrick is also no fan of Trump, and has taken him on in his song lyrics more than once (“The Heart Part 4,” “XXX.”). Kendrick has also taken on Trump’s favorite news station, Fox News. Even if Kendrick and Trump won’t be in the same venue, will Kendrick use the opportunity to address the president?

In other recent Kendrick Lamar news, he’s curating the Black Panther sountrack and just released a new song with SZA for it.