Hours before his Super Bowl-winning team heads to the White House, Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley snapped at fans criticizing him for golfing with Donald Trump on Sunday.
The star running back was seen alongside Trump at his Trump National golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey at the weekend and traveled with the President on Marine One.
Inevitably, Trump’s ardent critics were quick to pile in on Barkley as he spent time with the most powerful man in the land and by Monday morning, the Eagles hero had had enough.
‘Lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed 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. 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.’
Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley spent time with Donald Trump over the weekend
Saquon Barkley and President Trump were seen spending time together on Sunday
Barkley was pictured stood next to Trump after arriving at the White House on Sunday
An image shared to social media shows Barkley, Trump and several others sitting around a table together, with the President and Eagles player sitting next to one another.
There were also several ‘Make America Great Again’ hats stacked on the table, though Barkley was not wearing one.
Barkley and his teammates are getting set to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday afternoon as the President welcomes the Super Bowl winners to the Oval office.
Trump made history by attending their Super Bowl triumph in New Orleans in February – he was the first sitting President ever to attend the showpiece game of the football season.
Ironically, Trump had tentatively backed the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Eagles, but Barkley and his team ran out with a commanding 40-22 victory.
Barkley had already spent time with Trump’s family this spring as he posed for pictures with Trump ’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner at the JP Morgan tech 100 summit.
But the move on Sunday was particularly fascinating given his teammate Jalen Hurts suggesting he could snub Trump during the trip to DC on Monday afternoon.
During an interview with TIME on Thursday, Hurts was asked if he was planning on heading to the White House.
Saquon Barkley takes a pH๏τograph with Ivanka Trump and her 11-year-old son Joseph
Saquon Barkley (far right) posed alongside Jared Kushner at a conference earlier this month
‘Ermmmm,’ the quarterback said before staying silent, prompting an abrupt and awkward end to the interview.
Earlier this month, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie insisted every player would be given the choice of whether to attend or not.
‘Our culture is that these are optional things,’ Lurie said. ‘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.’
The team did not visit Washington to celebrate victory in Super Bowl LII in 2018.
Trump – then in his first term in office – canceled the event after it emerged that only a handful of players were planning to attend. It came amid his war with the NFL over protests during the national anthem.
