Saquon Barkley Receives Backlash For Hanging Out With Trump As Jalen Hurts Skips White House Visit - Black Promoters Collective (BPC)
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Saquon Barkley Receives Backlash For Hanging Out With Trump As Jalen Hurts Skips White House Visit

April 29, 2025
Home > News > Saquon Barkley Receives Backlash For Hanging Out With Trump As Jalen Hurts Skips White House Visit

The Philadelphia Eagles met with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon for a White House ceremony celebrating their 2025 Super Bowl victory. Social media is currently buzzing about how Jalen Hurts skipped the visit after dodging a question about Trump last week, while teammate Saquon Barkley seems to have embraced the president and went golfing with him.

NBC Philadelphia reported that the celebration would take place around 4 p.m., continuing the longstanding tradition of American sports teams visiting the sitting president to mark their championship victories.

Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said the White House visit was “optional”

Some players were divided on whether they would join their teammates if the organization accepted the White House’s invitation. In February, Eagles captain Lane Johnson said it would be an honor to visit the White House regardless of who was president, Newsweek and Blavity reported.

However, another player, speaking anonymously, said politics and personal beliefs would prevent him from visiting Washington due to Trump’s past remarks, according to .

At the time, team owner Jeff Lurie did not confirm or deny whether the team would accept the invite. However, he recently stated that it was optional, and players had a choice if they wanted to participate.

“Our culture is that these are optional things,” Lurie told reporters about the White House visit, according to NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk. “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.”

Was Jalen Hurts at the White House?

In March, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Eagles had officially accepted the traditional invitation and that the celebratory event would occur at the end of April.

“April 28, I can confirm that the Philadelphia Eagles will be here at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory,” Leavitt said, per NBC Philadelphia. “I know there was a lot of fake news about an invitation that wasn’t sent or was sent. We want to correct the record. We sent an invitation, they enthusiastically accepted and you will see them here on April 28.”

This will be the Eagles’ first visit to the White House. The last time they won the Super Bowl, defeating the New England Patriots in 2018, they declined the invitation during Trump’s first term, per Blavity.

On Thursday, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts attended the TIME100 Gala and had a few choice words for a reporter who asked whether he would join the team to visit the White House on Monday.

“Umm,” he responded, looking away from the camera with an uneasy expression and a reluctant smile. With no further comment, the reporter replied, “Got it. Thank you so much,”  before the 26-year-old walked away, according to People.

Barkley was at the White House visit, but Hurts was not.

Social media reacts to Hurts’ response

Yahoo! Sports reported that fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and praised the Super Bowl champion for his response to the question.

“He said nothing, but said everything you needed to know,” one social media user wrote.

“Another reason them beating the Chiefs was awesome,” another wrote.

“My man my man my man,” a third user wrote.

NBC News White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor confirmed Monday that Hurts would not travel to the White House with the team.

“A White House official confirms to me that @Eagles quarterback @JalenHurts will not be visiting the White House when the Super Bowl champions come later this afternoon. The White House says Hurts and other players who can’t attend had “scheduling conflicts,” she wrote.

Saquan Barkley visited Trump at New Jersey golf club

NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that photographs captured Eagles running back Saquon Barkley spending time with Trump and others at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey on Sunday. Later in the day, he flew back to Washington, D.C., with Trump on Marine One.

“What a nice guy he is. I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it,” Trump said of Barkley after they landed, per NBC10 Philadelphia.

Barkley has since faced criticism for spending time with Trump just one day before his team would visit the White House. He shared his thoughts in a post on his X account, stating that he would do the same with any president in office.

“lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT. 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 amazing day 😂” he wrote on X.

https://x.com/saquon/status/1916842917735379276