Former UConn QB, Famous for Trick Shot Video, Fired as President Trump’s Personal Assistant

John McEntee’s trick shot video went viral while he was at UConn. He later joined the Trump campaign.

John McEntee, the former UConn quarterback whose trick shot video became a viral sensation in 2011, was fired from his job as personal assistant to President Donald Trump on Monday, according to multiple reports. 

“The cause of the firing was an unspecified security issue,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a White House official. McEntee was subsequently hired as a senior advisor on Trump’s reelection campaign. 

“McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes,” CNN reported. He was escorted off the White House grounds before he was allowed to collect his belongings, even leaving without his jacket, the Journal reported. 

McEntee, 27, walked on at UConn and was the Huskies’ starting quarterback in 2011, leading the team to a 5–7 record. He served as the backup to Chandler Whitmer in 2012 as a redshirt senior. 

The quarterback was most famous, though, for a 2011 video in which he shows off an arm more accurate than his career 50.6% completion rate would indicate. He knocks a bottle off a teammate’s head, chucks a ball through a basketball hoop from the upper deck of the school’s basketball arena and completes passes to a receiver while blindfolded. The video, which you can see at the top of this page, has been viewed more than seven million times. 

After graduating, McEntee took a job with Fox News as a production assistant. He joined the Trump campaign as a volunteer in August 2015 and quickly rose through the ranks. McEntee’s role was described as “body man,” always staying by Trump’s side. 

“Mr. McEntee wasn’t as well known as the others, but had been a constant presence at Mr. Trump’s side for the past three years,” the Journal reported. “He made sure Mr. Trump had markers to sign autographs, delivered messages to him in the White House residence and, over the weekend, ensured that the clocks in the White House residence were adjusted for daylight-saving time.”