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Days before the Super Bowl LIX-winning Philadelphia Eagles paid a visit to the White House to celebrate their title, star running back Saquon Barkley took it a step further.
Fresh off a 2,000-yard campaign to be named the Offensive Player of the Year, Barkley rode Air Force One and spent a day with President Donald Trump at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Barkley received quite the blowback but defended himself at the time.
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President Donald Trump walks with Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, on April 27, 2025. Trump was returning to Washington from his residence in Bedminster, New Jersey, after traveling to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. (AFP via Getty Images)
"lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT," Barkley posted to X at the time. "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."
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced Trump at a New York event in May and received similar criticism. As someone with experience, Barkley learned the hard way that "you got to stay away from politics."
"You're not going to win. I played golf with the president of the United States of America, Mr. Trump, and I played with Barack Obama, and the one day I play with Trump, all these crazy things were said about me, and now I'm this person, I'm that person, and I don't align – some of the stuff that I don't even align with. But it's just, as an athlete, you know, you're not going to win. You're not going to win on that..." Barkley told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
President Donald Trump greets Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at a White House event welcoming the 2025 Super Bowl champion Eagles on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025. Trump honored the Eagles after their second Super Bowl victory. (Getty Images)
"That was a decision that I made and I got a lot of backlash for it. I can understand why I got backlash for it. I don't think the things that were said about me is true. I know it's not true. It's a lot of stuff that - just because, you know, I don't get into, like, you got to be this way or that way. Just because you played golf with the president of United States doesn't make you this. Just because you played golf with Barack Obama don't make you this, but in the world that we live in, the chaos that we live in, you're either this or you're that. And that's just so far from the truth. But at the end of the day, I was blessed with a pretty cool opportunity."
Several teams, most notably in the NBA, have skipped out on the White House visit, but a D.C. trip for champions is all Barkley has ever known.
"You may not get that opportunity again, and it's no guarantee that we're going to win a Super Bowl again, and if we win a Super Bowl, growing up my whole life, what do you do? You win a Super Bowl, you go to the White House, you represent your team," he said.
Barkley was offered a position on Trump's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition but declined.
The criticism Dart received, however, wasn't just from the outside, but also his own locker room. Defensive lineman Abdul Carter said he thought the video of them two was "AI," adding, "What are we doing man?" Carter and Dart told reporters they discussed the matter and even hugged it out after they spoke to the media about the ordeal.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart as he arrives to speak at Rockland Community College in Suffern, N.Y., on May 22, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)
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Barkley said he even talked to Dart about the situation and praised the Giants stars for having conversations with one another.
"I'm glad him everything that went over there in New York, they put that in the past and get back to ball," Barkley said.
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