Donald Trump stunned NFL fans by flying over Northwest Stadium near DC before attending Detroit Lions vs Washington Commanders on Sunday, where he joined Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma in the Fox broadcast booth for the third quarter.

Trump became the first sitting president to attend a regular-season NFL game since 1978 and marked his arrival in some style, with Air Force One swooping low over the stadium.

His attendance, which was met with booing from some of the fans near his suite, came as senators gathered in DC to vote on potentially ending the now 40-day governement shutdown.

Trump was at the game as part of the Washington team's 'Salute to Service' day, a league-wide initiative from the NFL ahead of Veterans Day on November 11. He swore in military members during a halftime service but as he addressed the crowd, looked momentarily taken aback by a feisty reaction from some parts of the 67,000-seater stadium.

Trump seemed in a triumphant mood when he stepped off his plane in DC moments after Air Force One touched down, saying: 'Was that the greatest flyover ever? Nobody’s ever done a flyover like that! They say whoever flies Air Force One, they’re the best pilots. And we just saw that.'

Unfortunately for the President, he wasn't arriving to a close game on Sunday. The Lions bulldozed their way into a 25-10 lead by the halftime interval, with the Commanders missing their star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his elbow last week.

'The backup quarterback (Marcus Mariota) is a good quarterback and he has some very good games,' Trump said in the broadcast booth. 'The first string quarterback (Daniels) has potential to be a great quarterback, he has got to stop the injuries somehow.'

Trump discussed his own football career in the military academy, joking that by admitting he never scored a touchdown, he is proving that he doesn't tell lies.

'I played tight end, I loved playing football,' he said. 'I loved the Jets and I loved the Giants. We had a couple of Super Bowls with the Giants, with the Jets it is taking a little bit of time.'

Asked about his love of sports, Trump said: 'It's a microcosm of life, it's sort of like life. The good, the bad and the ugly. 

'But you can equate sports with life, you have the triumph and you have the problems and you have to get through the problems to hit the triumphs and you can never quit, you can never give up.'

Trump then discussed the improvements he has overseen in hist first year as President, moments before Commanders quarterback Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel. It meant the Commanders were now trailing by 16, in a 32-16 scoreline.

'We're doing great, just like they have to do great right now. Let's see what happens' Trump said, moments before Mariota picked out Samuel. 'There you go, see! That was very important. A little ways to go yet but that was very important.'

But while it was Detroit bringing the action on the field, there were plenty of football fans who thought the best moment came from the sky in the first half. 

'People have no idea how huge Air Force One is, this must have been incredible,' one fan wrote in response to the footage on social media.

Another wrote: 'Epic display of patriotism and a reminder of what true leadership looks like. Flyover was a perfect tribute to the brave folks serving our country.'

Trump took his seat for the game with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

According to a report by ESPN on Saturday, an intermediary for the White House has told the Commanders´ ownership group that Trump wants the club's new stadium to bear his name.

Under a deal announced in April between the team and the District of Columbia, the team will return to the nation's capital in a new stadium expected to cost nearly $4bn. 

It will be built on the site of the RFK Stadium, where the team played for more than three decades when it won three Super Bowls in the 1980s and 1990s.  

'That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,' said Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Republican president. 

In July, Trump threatened to hold up the deal by insisting that the team change its name from the Commanders back to the Redskins, a name that was considered offensive to Native Americans.

Trump has long enjoyed having his name appear on things from his career as a real estate developer, from high-rise buildings, hotels and golf courses to his branding deals that have seen Trump-emblazoned Bibles, watches and cologne.

As Trump boarded Air Force One in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon after a morning golfing in Florida, extra security measures were put in place hours before kick off at Northwest Stadium.

Officers in black secret uniforms identifying them as members of the Secret Service joined military, police and other guards inside and outside Northwest Stadium. There were more fences than usual blocking sidewalks and some pathways were restricted.

Only two other times did a president go to an NFL game during the regular season while in office, according to the league: Richard Nixon in 1969 and Jimmy Carter in 1978.

Trump became the first president to go to a Super Bowl while in the White House when he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in February.

Sunday's visit to Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, would be the latest in a series of high-profile appearances at sporting events by Trump, including golf's Ryder Cup, auto racing's Daytona 500 and tennis' US Open.

'We are honored to welcome President Trump to the game as we celebrate those who have served and continue to serve our country,' Commanders club president Mark Clouse said.

'The entire Commanders organization is proud to participate in the NFL's league-wide Salute to Service initiative, recognizing the dedication and sacrifice of our nation's veterans, active-duty service members, and their families this Sunday.'

There was friction between Trump and the NFL during his first presidential term, when he objected to players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social or racial injustice. That movement began in 2016 with then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Via social media and other public comments, Trump insisted that players should stand for the national anthem and called on team owners to fire anyone taking a knee.