Philadelphia Eagles honored at White House for Super Bowl win; Trump takes jab at Taylor Swift during visit
The Philadelphia Eagles were honored at the White House on Monday by President Trump after winning Super Bowl LIX over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles players, coaches and staff gathered at the South Lawn to celebrate their second Lombardi Trophy after not heading to the White House following their first Super Bowl win in the 2017 season.
"It's an honor to be with this incredible group of champions, great team, and we're thrilled to welcome everyone to the White House, it's a special place to celebrate the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles," Mr. Trump said. "That was a special day, that was a big one. But the Eagles have turned out to be an incredible team, with an incredible group with a fantastic coach and coaches and having you at the White House is very, very special and important, and we appreciate you being here."
Which Eagles players went to the White House?
A notable number of Eagles players weren't present during the team's visit to the White House. Jalen Hurts, Brandon Graham, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith were among some of the players not in attendance.
Hurts, the MVP of Super Bowl LIX, missed the event due to "scheduling conflicts."
Despite not being at the White House, Mr. Trump still gave Hurts credit for the Super Bowl season.
"Complimenting Saquon's historic season was an incredible year for star quarterback Jalen Hurts," Mr. Trump said. "He had a great season and a great game. He finished with 32 touchdowns on the year, turning in one stellar performance after another. A terrific guy and a terrific player."
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman, head coach Nick Sirianni and "Big Dom" DiSandro were all at the visit, along with a handful of players and other staff.
Lurie said at the NFL owners' meetings that the visit was "optional" for players.
Here's who was spotted:
- Running backs Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley
- Tight ends Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra and C.J. Uzomah
- Offensive linemen Cam Jurgens, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, Mekhi Becton and Tyler Steen
- Cornerbacks Cooper DeJean, Eli Ricks
- Safeties Reed Blankenship, Sydney Brown
- Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo
- Kicker Jake Elliott
- Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, running backs coach Jemal Singleton, wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead
Johnson, Blankenship, Sirianni, "Big Dom" and Lurie all spoke at the event.
Before the team was honored on Monday, Barkley was seen golfing with Mr. Trump in New Jersey. The two traveled to Washington, D.C., together.
Barkley responded to the criticism of being with Mr. Trump in an X post on Monday, telling people to "get out of my mentions."
"Saquon's a good golfer, but he's a much better football player," said Mr. Trump, who also claimed that he told the New York Giants not to lose Barkley in free agency in 2024.
After the ceremony, the Eagles went on a tour of the White House, and Mr. Trump had a gift for each member of the organization.
"It's truly an honor to be here," Lurie said. "I remember as a little boy the championship teams that came to the White House, and I never dreamed we'd be able to have a team and be as good as this, and this was a dominant team with an incredible culture."
"Big Dom" recognized by Trump at Eagles White House visit
"Big Dom," the Eagles' well-known head of security and senior adviser to the general manager, was recognized by Mr. Trump while the president congratulated the team on their Super Bowl season.
"This is a guy, they say he loves Trump," Mr. Trump said. "This is a guy, I had Saquon give him a big, beautiful hat last night because I've been hearing about this guy. He likes Trump... and he's sort of a legend."
When Mr. Trump first walked over to the microphone at the beginning of the event, he said, "Oh, you must be Big Dom."
Later, Mr. Trump invited "Big Dom" to say a few words.
"I just want to say thank you, we're honored to be here and go Birds," Big Dom said.
Trump says NFL shouldn't ban the tush push during White House visit
During the White House visit, Mr. Trump said he hopes the NFL keeps the tush push amid a potential ban of the controversial play successfully run by the Eagles.
"I hope they keep that play, coach," Trump said on the South Lawn as he looked back at Sirianni. "They're talking about getting rid of that play, I understand. They should keep it. I like it, it's sort of exciting and different."
Mr. Trump's endorsement of the tush push comes as the NFL delayed a vote at the NFL owners' meetings to potentially ban the play. NFL team owners are set to vote on the play in May after teams reportedly had an informal 16-16 vote on the tush push. It takes 24 of 32 votes to approve rule changes.
Trump takes jab at Taylor Swift during White House visit
Mr. Trump took a jab at Taylor Swift while he was congratulating the Eagles on their Super Bowl win.
While he was recapping the Super Bowl LIX victory, he said: "From the first quarter of the big game, I was there, I watched in person. I was there along with Taylor Swift. How did that work out? How did that one work out?"
Swift was booed at the Super Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans as the Eagles went on to beat the Chiefs.
Last year, Mr. Trump wrote "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" in a post on Truth Social days after the pop star endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
