Eagles stars' divide deepens as Saquon Barkley shares special White House moment with Ivanka Trump's son
Although at least 13 Eagles stars were notably absent from the NFL franchise's customary celebratory audience with the president, there was one player in attendance who had a particularly impactful presence.
Saquon Barkley, who earlier in the day had fired back at critics of his visit with Donald Trump at the weekend, not only split from his teammates, including Jalen Hurts, in attending the visit but also shared a special moment with Theodore Kushner - the nine-year-old grandson of the president.
The First Daughter shared a video to social media of the youngster racing across the White House lawn with the running back.
The pair were captured tossing the pigskin around before Theodore challenged the NFL star - one of the fastest in the league - to a race.
'Celebrating with champions at the White House today!' Ivanka wrote in the caption. 'Congratulations to the [Eagles] on an amazing season and Super Bowl win!
'My highlight of the day? Theo challenging [Barkley] to a race in the Rose Garden after my father wisely demurred! Thanks Saquon for being such a great sport!'
Barkley is no stranger to the Trump family, having cozied up to Ivanka, her husband Jared Kushner, and their 11-year-old son Joseph at the annual JP Morgan tech 100 summit at the beginning of the month.
The offensive star was also seen alongside Trump at his Trump National golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey at the weekend and traveled with the President on Marine One.
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.
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.'
The Kushners have been less visible during the early stages of Trump's second term in office but haven't fail to seize the chance to mingle with sporting royalty.
In March, Miami Dolphins stars Tua Tagovailova and Braxton Berrios spent time with Ivanka's family.
In another Instagram post, she revealed that the members of the Dolphins had enjoyed a day with Kushner and Theo, playing a game of catch.
In one photo Ivanka's youngest son and her husband posed with the quarterback and the wide receiver, who is dating TikTok star Alix Earle. Meanwhile a video in the next slide showed Theodore showing off his arm with the NFL players.
While Barkley seemingly enjoyed his trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, fans noticed that many of the key players from the team's Super Bowl run were not there.
Quarterback Hurts, receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and linebacker Zack Baun were absent. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham (who has since retired), Nolan Smith Jr., Nakobe Dean, CJ Gardner Johnson (who is now on the Texans), Darius Slay (who is now on the Steelers) and Quinyon Mitchell were reportedly absent as well.
Hurts snubbed the White House visit over a 'scheduling conflict,' according to NBC News's Yamiche Alcindor.
Offensive lineman Lane Johnson and head coach Nick Sirianni were among those in attendance, as well as owner Jeffrey Lurie and chief security officer and senior advisor to the GM 'Big' Dom DiSandro.
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