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The Philadelphia Eagles’ strong brotherhood is part of what catapulted them to win the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs, but now there seems to be a split in the locker room over politics.

Today, the Eagles are scheduled to make the annual Super Bowl-winning visit to the White House, and one surprising person who will be in attendance is star running back Saquon Barkley. 

Barkley got a jump on the official Rose Garden ceremony when he was golfing at President Trump’s golf course in Bedminster before boarding Marine One with the president. 

While deboarding in the nation’s capital, Barkley walked in the opposite direction of the press, while Trump went over and said, “What a nice guy he is. I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it.”

According to CBS, the two took photos together before heading to the Oval Office, and Barkley immediately received some hate for aligning with Trump, so he hopped on X to plead his case.

“lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley tweeted. “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.”

Trump’s a noted Chiefs fan and was rooting for them during the big game in February, but even gave Barkley his props after learning who he was, recalling that his great-uncle Iran Barkley was a very talented boxer.

Barkley decided to meet up with the fellow New Yorker days after the awkward moment at the Time 100 event when quarterback Jalen Hurts asked if he’d be visiting the White House. 

“Uhh,” he said, looking around and staying silent before the interviewer ended the chat. 

During the annual NFL owners meeting, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said that while his players can choose whether to attend, “We just felt this is a time-honored tradition, being invited by the White House. There was no reticence whatsoever. To be celebrated at the White House is a good thing.”

There was a totally different attitude surrounding the visit back in 2018 for Super Bowl LII after Trump rescinded the offer because the players were “disrespectful” by staying in the locker room during the national anthem.

See how social media is reacting to Barkley associating with Trump below.

Saquon Barkley Defends Hanging Out With President Trump, Social Media Highly Upset  was originally published on ionecassius.staging.go.ione.nyc