Saquon Barkley responds to criticism over golfing with Trump before Eagles' White House visit
Hours before the Eagles' White House visit with President Trump today, Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley responded to backlash on social media after he was spotted with the president Sunday in New Jersey.
Barkley posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning, telling people to "get out of my mentions" after he was seen getting off Marine One at Morristown Municipal Airport. He posted that he played golf with Mr. Trump on Sunday, claiming he respects the office of the presidency. He mentioned golfing with President Barack Obama in October 2024.
"Some people are really upset cause I played golfed [sic] and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT," Barkley wrote on X. "Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand," Barkley wrote on X. "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 amazing day."
Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday that Barkley is a "nice guy" and that he "wanted to race him" but opted not to. Mr. Trump and Barkley took photos with a child in the White House Rose Garden Sunday night and then walked into the Oval Office, according to a pool report.
A couple of hours later, the White House's official X account posted a picture of Mr. Trump and Barkley inside the Oval Office with a screenshot of Barkley's tweet.
The Eagles are scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump at 4 p.m. Monday on the White House's South Lawn.
After the Eagles clobbered the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, rumors circulated that the team declined an invitation to the White House. That proved to be false. The White House extended an invitation, which the Eagles accepted.
Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles' chairman and CEO, said celebrating the team's second Super Bowl victory in franchise history was an "obvious choice" at the NFL owners meetings. Lurie added that the visit would be optional for players.
It's unclear which Eagles will attend the White House visit with Mr. Trump today, but Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts will not be among them. Hurts is skipping Monday's visit due to what the White House claims are "scheduling conflicts."
In 2018, after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, Mr. Trump canceled the visit a day before due to a dispute over the national anthem. Mr. Trump claimed the Eagles wanted to send a "smaller delegation" instead. The White House claimed Mr. Trump would be overseas during the Eagles' proposed dates. Several of the 2017-18 Eagles had previously said they would not attend the White House ceremony.
