Trump features UGA ROTC members in his lead Twitter photo

ROTC cadets from Georgia (left) and Alabama escorted President Trump onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. AJC photo: Hyosub Shin

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

ROTC cadets from Georgia (left) and Alabama escorted President Trump onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. AJC photo: Hyosub Shin

President Donald Trump started today's social media cycle by pinning an item about the "Fake News Awards" to the top of his Twitter page.

By the afternoon, amid Congressional wrangling to avoid a government shutdown, he had pivoted to supportive messages about the military. His banner image is now a photo of him at the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, played Jan. 8 in Atlanta.

MORE: So, about the "Fake News Awards"

 The banner image on President Trump's Twitter page shows him at the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Atlanta, accompanied by ROTC cadets from UGA (left) and Alabama.

Credit: Jennifer Brett

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Credit: Jennifer Brett

Trump was escorted by ROTC members from the Universities of Georgia and Alabama, as shown in the banner image. The UGA contingent included  Cadets TJ Matty, Alyssa Ruffa and Mitch Walton of the U.S. Army Cadet Command (ROTC) 6th BDE Army ROTC University of Georgia. We happened to run into them ahead of the game (which ended in a heartbreak for Georgia, but let's not go there).

Matty and Ruffa are seniors from New Jersey and Walton is a sophomore from Virginia. All were excited about the opportunity to march alongside their commander in chief. Getting tapped for the presidential detail was a mix of luck and opportunity. Those selected were cadets who already happened to have a ticket to the game.

“Last night was one of the most memorable experiences of my life,” Ruffa posted after the game. “I got to spend the beginning of the National Championship with the President of the United States as we stood in front of thousands of people during the national anthem. At the end of the night I got to do what I went there to do — cheer on the dawgs for the very last time as a UGA student. Although we didn’t come home as national champions, I know there are many more wins in the future for us and I could’ve have asked for a better end to my final college football season. GO DAWGS.