President Trump Celebrates America, Even If Philadelphia Eagles Won’t

By 1600 Staff

Late Monday night, President Trump announced that the Philadelphia Eagles would not be hosted at the White House event that was scheduled for today.

The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!

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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

The White House had already invited one thousand people to the event, and only a small portion of the team were willing to follow through on their initial commitment. Because of the recent politicization of the NFL by activists,  President Trump responded by hosting the same event, honoring the American flag that the Eagles and other NFL teams would protest.

The White House issued the following statement in reaction to the decision to cancel the event:

After extensive discussions with the Eagles organization, which began in February, the team accepted an invitation from the President to attend a June 5 celebration of their victory in Super Bowl LII at the White House.

On Thursday, May 31, the team notified the White House of 81 individuals, including players, coaches, management, and support personnel, who would attend the event. On Friday, the Secret Service cleared them for participation. These individuals, along with more than 1,000 Eagles fans, were scheduled to attend the event.

Late Friday, citing the fact that many players would not be in attendance, the team contacted the White House again, and attempted to reschedule the event. The President, however, had already announced that he would be traveling overseas on the dates the Eagles proposed. The White House, despite sensing a lack of good faith, nonetheless attempted to work with the Eagles over the weekend to change the event format that could accommodate a smaller group of players. Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today. In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans.

Upon learning these facts, the President decided to change the event so that it would be a celebration of the American flag with Eagles fans and performances by United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus.

The president refuses to abandon the fans that were excited to come to the event, as the Philadelphia Eagles did, and will instead be celebrating America.

We will proudly be playing the National Anthem and other wonderful music celebrating our Country today at 3 P.M., The White House, with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus. Honoring America! NFL, no escaping to Locker Rooms!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

RELATED: President Trump’s Fox News Interview On NFL Kneeling