Eagles White House visit updates, highlights from President Donald Trump's Super Bowl 59 celebration
The Philadelphia Eagles, fresh off their second Super Bowl victory, visited the White House to celebrate with President Donald Trump, who praised the team's achievements and shared light-hearted moments with key players like Saquon Barkley. Despite being the Super Bowl 59 MVP, quarterback Jalen Hurts was notably absent due to scheduling conflicts, along with several other players such as A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. The ceremony featured Trump receiving a personalized Eagles jersey and helmet, and he expressed support for their controversial play, the 'Tush Push'. Trump also reminisced about advising the Giants to retain Barkley during his free agency period. The visit was significant as the Eagles did not attend the White House after their first Super Bowl win in 2018 due to a canceled invitation amid a national anthem controversy.
The Eagles celebrated their Super Bowl victory at the White House, an event where President Trump acknowledged their success and the team's iconic players, including Saquon Barkley, who has faced criticism for attending the event.
Super Bowl 59 MVP Jalen Hurts was absent from the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts, and other key players like A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith were also not present, which was noted by attendees and the media.
During the event, President Trump was presented with a personalized Eagles jersey and helmet by Nick Sirianni and Lane Johnson, highlighting the ceremonial aspect of the visit.
Trump expressed his support for the Eagles' controversial 'Tush Push' play and humorously advised the Giants not to lose Saquon Barkley during his free agency, showcasing a blend of sportsmanship and personal anecdotes.
This White House visit was particularly noteworthy as the Eagles had previously been involved in a controversy in 2018 when their planned visit was canceled due to a disagreement over the national anthem policy, making this event a significant moment in their relationship with the presidency.
The Eagles are a few months removed from their second Super Bowl title, but they had more celebrating to do Monday.
The team visited the White House for a ceremony that plenty of Super Bowl champions have traditionally participated in. President Donald Trump made remarks and highlighted the team's accomplishments, with a few players and other Eagles representatives also stepping up to the podium briefly.
Heading into the event, two of the most well-known Eagles were at the forefront of the visit to D.C. Running back Saquon Barkley, coming off one of the greatest rushing seasons of all time, responded to criticism for making the trip to the White House early and spending time with Trump. The attendance of quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Super Bowl 59 MVP, was also a story after he refused to say recently whether he'd be showing up in D.C.
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The Super Bowl champions took their offseason party to the White House, another stop on their journey after dismantling the Chiefs 40-22 in February.
The Sporting News tracked live updates and highlights from the Eagles' White House visit on Monday. Here's how the celebrations went.
MORE: Saquon Barkley explains his decision to visit President Donald Trump
Eagles White House visit updates, highlights from Super Bowl celebration
(All times ET)
4:43 p.m. — The ceremony concludes with Trump, Sirianni and Johnson posing with the custom Eagles jersey and owner Jeffrey Lurie thanking the White House for invitation.
4:40 p.m. — Sirianni and Lane Johnson presented Trump with a personalized Eagles jersey:
Nick Sirianni and Lane Johnson present President Trump with an Eagles helmet and jersey pic.twitter.com/9y9VTIny2F
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 28, 2025
4:38 p.m. — Head coach Nick Sirianni thanked Trump for the invitation and for endorsing the Tush Push.
4:36 p.m. — Trump said the league should allow the Eagles to keep running the Tush Push.
"I hope they keep that play," he said.
Donald Trump says the NFL should keep the Tush Push
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 28, 2025
He asks Saquon who agrees pic.twitter.com/NktA9EjL0j
4:35 p.m. — While Jalen Hurts is not in attendance, Trump said the quarterback "had a great season and a great game," and is a "terrific player."
4:32 p.m. — Trump said he told the Giants "do anything you have to, but don't lose Saquon," referring to the running back's famous free agency decision.
“I was with the Giants and the head coach and some people and I said…don’t lose Saquon. They lost Saquon. That was not good. I called that one.” – Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/gQVpsy6Nk3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 28, 2025
4:30 p.m. — Trump described Barkley as a "handsome guy" and said "I wouldn't want to tackle him," then took a moment to shake hands with the running back.
4:26 p.m. — President Trump said Nick Sirianni "proved the doubters wrong" with the Super Bowl title and also spoke about known Eagles personality and head of security "Big Dom," who then took the mic momentarily.
Big Dom is the first Eagle that President Trump brought to the microphone to speak. WOW pic.twitter.com/pxj8Rzh9Sp
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 28, 2025
4:22 p.m. — Nick Sirianni and Lane Johnson walked out with President Trump:
Nick Sirianni and Lane Johnson walked out with President Trump pic.twitter.com/A9z8P6e7m7
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 28, 2025
4:21 p.m. — President Trump says the Super Bowl was a "special day" and the Eagles are "an incredible team."
4:19 p.m. — Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Mailata and more are front and center at the White House podium. Per John Clark, A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are among the players that don't appear to be in attendance, like Hurts.
Saquon Barkley is front and center here to celebrate the Eagles Super Bowl championship
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 28, 2025
Don’t see Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and a lot of members of the defense pic.twitter.com/vfPTdoAjjv
4:16 p.m. — The Eagles have been welcomed in to their "Fly Eagles Fly" theme.
4:07 p.m. — Here's the scene at the White House with the ceremony soon to begin:
The Eagles ceremony is about to begin pic.twitter.com/YxOMrWj5Js
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 28, 2025
3:51 p.m. — The Eagles have both of their Lombardi trophies at the White House today.
The stage is set here at the White House with the Eagles Lombardi trophies and an Eagles helmet. The ceremony should start around 4 PM. 📸 @JoshRultNews pic.twitter.com/73h0g3wan8
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 28, 2025
3:02 p.m. — The Birds are in D.C. Here's a look at the team visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this afternoon:
Before the Eagles' ceremony at the White House at 4 p.m., they visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
— Olivia Reiner (@ReinerOlivia) April 28, 2025
đź“· Courtesy of Sandra Peoples pic.twitter.com/MXv9yXit0n
1:27 p.m. — Super Bowl 59 MVP Jalen Hurts will not be in attendance for today's Eagles ceremony at the White House, per NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor.
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.”
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 28, 2025
Will Jalen Hurts be at the White House?
NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor reported Monday afternoon that Hurts, along with some other players, will not be in attendance for the Eagles' team visit to the White House.
The White House told Alcindor that Hurts had "scheduling conflicts."
Are A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith at the White House?
With the Eagles' team at the podium for the White House ceremony, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith were among the players not spotted by reporters.
94WIP's Eliot Shorr-Parks estimated there were around 30 players in attendance, with quarterback Jalen Hurts and the two receivers among those absent.
Looks like maybe about 30ish players here pic.twitter.com/XAGzFf45Uy
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) April 28, 2025
Eagles White House visit time
- Day: Monday, April 28
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
Per Roll Call, the Eagles' ceremony at the White House is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, April 28.
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Did the Eagles visit the White House in 2018?
When the Eagles won their first Super Bowl with a win over the Patriots in 2018, they did not visit the White House. Donald Trump was in his first term as president at the time.
The White House canceled the visit just one day before it was scheduled in 2018, as there was a national anthem dispute between members of the team and the president. In a statement on the event being canceled, Trump said some then-Eagles "disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart."
Members of the 2018 Eagles to say they wouldn't attend the White House ceremony included Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long and Brandon Graham.
The Eagles also released a statement and planned to send a smaller group of players to D.C. to visit the White House, rather than have a team ceremony. At the time, the NFL Players Association released a statement that said it was "disappointed" by the decision to cancel the ceremony.
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 5, 2018
How to watch the Eagles' White House visit
The official White House YouTube account is streaming the Eagles' ceremony, which can be found below: