Trump meets up with the Philadelphia Eagles football team, but Jalen Hurts, their star quarterback, is absent from the gathering.
Rewritten Article:
In a warm White House gathering this week, President Donald Trump welcomed the triumphant Philadelphia Eagles, fresh from their Super Bowl victory. Yet, star quarterback Jalen Hurts was conspicuously absent.
Hurts and several other Eagles players claimed they had "conflicting schedules" as their excuse, according to an unnamed White House source.
Despite their no-show, Trump showered praises on Hurts, lauding him as a "fantastic individual and a prodigious athlete" who "delivered commanding performances," guiding his team to a legendary 14-3 regular season record and clinching the Super Bowl title.
"The Eagles were a resounding team," Trump acknowledged.
In his inaugural term, Trump initially planned an event to honor the Eagles' Super Bowl win in 2018 – the franchise's maiden title from Pennsylvania. However, he later canceled the event, rebranding it as the "America's Team" party, after it became apparent that most players would decline the invitation.
Recently, a journalist asked Hurts during the Times magazine gala whether he would attend a White House visit. His response, an awkward "um," followed by an extended silence, and a swift exit, spoke volumes.
Star running back Saquon Barkley, another Eagle, spent last weekend golfing with Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and even flew on Air Force One with the President to Washington. Afterward, he transitioned to Marine One for the White House visit.
Trump, expressing his sentiments about Barkley, described him as a "solid guy."
In response to critics who accused him of fraternizing with Trump, Barkley pointed out his golf outing with former U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
"Maybe I respect our institutions, it's not rocket science," Barkley quipped on X.
Barkley seized the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award last season, amassing a staggering 2005 rushing yards, cementing the eighth-highest total in league history. This was his debut season with the Eagles.
Enrichment Data:In the current year, it appears there's no news about a White House visit by the Philadelphia Eagles, as reported in the original article. However, 2025 news reveals possible reasons behind some players' decisions to skip a potential White House visit:
- Scheduling Conflicts: Many Eagles players, like Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith, skipped the White House visit due to "scheduling conflicts" [1][2]. It's worth noting that the team's visit was optional, as asserted by Eagles owner, Jeffrey Lurie [2].
- Personal Decisions: Although the exact motives behind their absences were not explicitly disclosed by each player, Hurts' earlier evasive response suggested an inclination to skip the event [2]. No players publicly voiced specific political reasons for absence, focusing instead on personal or scheduling reasons [4].
In a nutshell, "scheduling conflicts" appear to be the primary reason for ignoring a potential 2025 White House visit, while personal decisions may have played a role for some players.
- The Philadelphia Eagles, having won the Super Bowl in 2018, found themselves in a situation where Jalen Hurts, one of their star players, missed a White House gathering due to alleged scheduling conflicts.
- During a meeting with President Donald Trump, Saquon Barkley, another Eagles player, managed to golf with him at the Trump National Golf Club and even flew on Air Force One to Washington, despite Hurts' scheduling difficulties.
- In the previously arranged event to honor the Eagles' Super Bowl win in 2018, some players, like Hurts, cited scheduling conflicts as their reason for absentia.
- Trump, while expressing his praise for Jalen Hurts' exceptional performance, acknowledged the Eagles as a remarkable team that achieved a 14-3 regular season record and clinched the Super Bowl title in 2018.
- Maybe, in a potential 2025 White House visit, some Eagles players might be seen to have scheduling conflicts, suggesting that personal decisions could also be a factor in determining whether a player attends such an event.
