Pat McAfee Defends Interviewing President Trump On Show

Pat McAfee is standing firmly by his decision to put Donald Trump on his show ... pointing out he's the freakin' President of the United States of America -- and it's Veterans Day!!!

POTUS phoned in to chop it up about sports and politics on the ESPN show on Tuesday as part of the federal holiday celebration honoring the U.S. military ... and some of his viewers weren't thrilled.

One fan even said, "Worst president we’ve ever had. Sad PM allows this trash on his show."

Well, it seems McAfee clearly saw this coming ... and wasted no time addressing the potential backlash right after Trump hung up.

"I will like to say, though, for the immediate people that are gonna mad about that happening -- it's the President of the United States," McAfee said.

"It's Veterans Day. He's the Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, if we have the opportunity to talk to him, we're going to ... and he's hilarious!"

The mixed reaction to Trump's on-air call comes days after he was met with boos and middle fingers from fans while attending the Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders game on Sunday.

He later brushed it off by sharing a video of Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown doing the "Trump Dance" after scoring a touchdown celebration on his Truth Social page.

As for the interview ... Trump weighed in on how coaches would do as war generals, lamented the U.S. loss in the Ryder Cup and talked more about his hate for the new NFL kickoffs.