On Monday afternoon, the world champion Philadelphia Eagles made their long-awaited visit to the White House for the customary visit by the Super Bowl champions. The visit took place after the Eagles skipped the ceremony after their Super Bowl win in 2018 and after erroneous reports that the Eagles had opted not to make the trip to Washington this year.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had been confirmed as not attending, and other prominent Eagles also skipped the trip, including star wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. But about 20 players were there, including most of the starting offensive line, along with owner Jeffrey Lurie, coach Nick Sirianni, general manager Howie Roseman, and head of security “Big Dom” DiSandro, who Trump acknowledged was a big fan of his.
Eagles’ Eli Ricks fawns over Ivanka Trump after White House visit: ‘Exactly my type’ https://t.co/7A9gLFYJLS pic.twitter.com/o3onr0jD0b
— New York Post (@nypost) April 29, 2025
In a warm ceremony lasting about half an hour, the president mostly avoided making controversial statements, aside from his endorsement of the Eagles’ controversial goal line play, “the tuck rule,” which the NFL is considering banning. He also claimed that he had told the New York Giants not to trade the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley, a conversation the Giants say never occurred.
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Trump did not mention any of the players who had opted not to appear, nor did he make any comment about his having rooted for the Kansas City Chiefs leading up to the Super Bowl, although he did make a crack about Taylor Swift. Trump also had nothing bad to say about Lurie, a rare Democrat among NFL owners and a man who produced the anti-Trump documentary “Totally Under Control” in 2020.
Eagles CB Eli Ricks enjoyed his White House visit 💀 pic.twitter.com/r605I2nEsK
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 28, 2025
There was one odd subplot from the day: Eli Ricks, a reserve cornerback and special teams player on the Eagles, made clear that he was smitten by the president’s daughter, Ivanka.
“Donald Trump daughter is beautiful damn,” Ricks said on X. “After seeing her in person Ivanka is exactly my type.”
Ivanka Trump worked for the White House during her father’s first term, along with her husband, Jared Kushner, but the two were not part of the White House in the second term and haven’t been seen much in Washington since Trump returned.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
