UPDATE 4/28/25, 1:50 p.m. ET — Hours after Eagles running back Saquon Barkley defended spending time with President Trump, news broke that quarterback Jalen Hurts will not attend the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win.
According to NBC News, a White House official confirmed that Hurts and other Eagles players are skipping the event due to “scheduling conflicts.”
Original story below:
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is speaking out after sparking backlash for spending time with President Donald Trump.
“lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley, 28, tweeted on Monday, April 28. “Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump ! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have [an] amazing day 😂.”
The Eagles are expected to appear at the White House on Monday to celebrate their recent Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. When asked about the special occasion on the red carpet at the Time 100 Gala in New York City earlier this month, quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t give a solid answer about whether he’ll attend.
“Um,” Hurts, 26, said as he glanced around before the reporter thanked him for his time.
Barkley, however, was seen hanging out with the president at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, over the weekend. In pics shared via social media, Barkley sat next to Trump, 78, who wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
The pair were also spotted chatting as they disembarked Marine One on Sunday, April 27. “What a nice guy he is,” Trump said of the athlete, per footage shared via C-SPAN. “I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it.”
Trump was also in office when the Eagles won their first Super Bowl trophy in 2018, but the team declined the offer to meet with the president. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in March that this time, the Eagles will make their way to Washington, D.C.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is coming to Taylor Swift’s defense after she was booed during Super Bowl LIX. “I remember that they showed her on the Jumbotron and she got booed,” Barkley, 28, said during a Wednesday, February 12, appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “I don’t get it. I don’t get why […]
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie later noted that the visit is a “time-honored tradition” in the sports world.
“There was no reticence whatsoever. To be celebrated at the White House is a good thing,” he told reporters earlier this month. “There were special circumstances that were very different [after our last win] … When you grow up and you hear about, ‘Oh, the championship team got to go to the White House,’ that’s what this is. And so we didn’t have that opportunity and now we do. I think we’re all looking forward to it.”
Lurie insisted, however, that the event isn’t mandatory. “If you want to enjoy this, come along and we’ll have a great time, and if you don’t, it is totally an optional thing. … We are not politicizing in any way,” he said.
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