Saquon Barkley spends time with President Trump ahead of Eagles White House visit
Eagles White House visit: Super Bowl champs to meet Trump on Monday
The Philadelphia Eagles will visit President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX victory.
PHILADELPHIA - Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley was spotted spending time with President Donald Trump on Sunday ahead of the Eagles' visit to the White House.
Barkley and Trump were together at the president's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, and the pair were also spotted stepping off Marine One.
The pow-wow happened a day before the Eagles were slated to meet President Trump at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX victory.
What we know:
Barkley hitched a ride to Washington with President Trump aboard Air Force One ahead of the Eagles visit to the White House on Monday.
The pair were spotted on Sunday spending time together at Trump's Bedminster golf course before they headed to Washington D.C.
Trump spoke to reporters on the tarmac before jetting back home to the White House, and joked that he wanted to race the star running back.
"What a nice guy he is. I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it," Trump said.
Barkley responds to backlash
Barkley's outing with Trump sparked intense backlash online, with some criticizing the Eagles running back for canoodling with the president.
"Some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT," Barkley said in a post on X.
"Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand," he continued.
Barkley also mentioned in the post that he recently played golf with former President Barack Obama.
What we know:
No Eagles players or coaches have said if they will skip the team's trip to the White House.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts fell silent when a reporter asked if he was going to the White House during a TIME red carpet event last week.
Eagles Owner Jeffery Lurie has stated that he believes the voluntary trip to the White House is a tradition.
The Eagles did not go to the White House after their last Super Bowl win in 2018.
What's next:
Eagles and President Trump will meet at the White House on Monday at 4 p.m.
You can stream the meeting on FOX29.com and on the free FOX LOCAL app.