President Donald Trump honored the champions of Super Bowl 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles, at the White House on Monday. However, most of the team’s top players, like quarterback Jalen Hurts, chose not to participate in the official celebration, sparking comments and controversy on social media.
Last week, when asked on the red carpet at the Time magazine gala if he planned to attend the event at the White House, Hurts responded with an evasive “uhm” followed by a long silence before leaving without clarifying his position.
According to a White House official, Hurts and other team members mentioned scheduling conflicts as the reasons for their absence.
Among the figures who were also not present at the event are the receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, linebacker Zack Baun, as well as cornerbacks Darius Slay and CJ Gardner-Johnson, although the former has now signed with the Steelers and the latter with the Texans.
Trump highlighted Hurts anyway
Despite his absence, Trump praised Hurts, calling him a “fantastic guy and an extraordinary player,” highlighting that he had “stellar performance after stellar performance” during the past season, helping the Eagles finish with a record of 14-3 and secure the Super Bowl title.
“The Eagles have turned out to be an incredible team, an incredible group,” Trump stated during the ceremony.
During his first presidential term in 2018, Trump had initially invited the Eagles to the White House after their first Super Bowl title, but later cancelled the celebration when he found out that most players would not attend. Instead, he briefly organized an event called “Celebration of America.”
Anyway, Hurts and the missing figures today were not on the Eagles in 2018 because they were still college players.
Barkley played golf with Trump and traveled on Air Force One.
Yes, the star running back of the Eagles and the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, Saquon Barkley, was present at the White House.
In fact, the skilled runner Barkley played golf with the President of the United States over the weekend at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and then accompanied the President on Air Force One to Washington, finally transferring to the White House on Marine One.
Trump commented that Barkley really enjoyed the brief flight on the presidential plane, describing him as “a great young man and an incredible football player.” He also highlighted that Barkley had “a historic season” running behind the “most powerful offensive line in the NFL.”
On social media, Barkley faced criticism for his closeness to Trump. The player responded to the questions by explaining that he had also recently played golf with Barack Obama, stating that his involvement with Trump was a respect for the institution and not for political positions. “Perhaps I simply respect the office, it’s not a difficult concept to understand,” Barkley wrote on social media.
Trump mocks Taylor Swift again
In February, Trump became the first president in the history of the United States to attend a Super Bowl. Before the game, he had predicted a victory for the Chiefs over the Eagles and offered words of recognition to quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
After the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Chiefs at the Superdome in New Orleans, Trump did not miss the opportunity to refer to the singer Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, and was booed when she appeared on the stadium’s big screen during the game.
Swift had expressed her support for the then Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections. On her Truth Social platform, she wrote: “The only one who had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She was BOOED out of the stadium. MAGA doesn’t forgive easily!”.
This Monday, during the Eagles celebration, Trump brought up the incident and mentioned that he was present at the stadium with Taylor Swift, asking in an ironic tone: “How did that turn out?”