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MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
Saquon Barkley is pushing back against criticism regarding his relationship with President Donald Trump.
The Philadelphia Eagles star — who was seen with the president over the weekend at Trump’s Bedminster, N.J. golf club — encouraged his followers on X to “get out of my mentions with all this politics” after his social media pages filled with comments from fans calling him out for his actions on Monday, April 28.
“Lol some people are really upset cause I played golf and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley, 28, wrote. “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!”
He concluded with a crying-laughing emoji: “Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day.”
According to CNN, Barkley was photographed with Trump as the two got off Marine One in New Jersey, and the latter talked up the 2025 Super Bowl champion to reporters: “What a nice guy.”
Trump also joked: “I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it.”
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Pictures on social media showed the two together at Trump National Golf Club where they mingled with others at a table strewn with “Make America Great Again” hats.
Earlier this month, Barkley attended a tech conference, where he wrote on X that he “had an amazing time.” In his post, the future Hall of Famer shared pictures of himself with the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner.
On Sunday, the running back was later seen aboard Air Force One en route to the White House — where some members of the Eagles are set to be recognized on Monday, April 28 for winning the 2025 Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs.
It remains to be seen which players and staff will attend the ceremony, set for Monday afternoon.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie told reporters recently that the appearance was voluntary.
“Our culture is that these are optional things,” Lurie said about the White House visit. “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.”
Last week, Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts dodged the question about his own attendance.
“Umm,” he said while on the TIME100 Gala red carpet on Thursday, April 24. He then looked away from the camera with an uncomfortable expression, mixed with a hesitant smile.
Hurts didn’t have anything else to say, prompting the reporter to reply, “Got it. Thank you so much,” before the NFL star appeared to walk away.
The Eagles formally accepted the offer to attend the celebration last month.
