Getty President Trump has canceled the upcoming Philadelphia Eagles visit to the White House over the NFL dispute with players kneeling during the national anthem.
President Donald Trump has called off the Philadelphia Eagles visit to the White House Tuesday due to the dispute over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
The White House released a statement that some members of the Super Bowl champions “disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart.”
Trump refuses to see a smaller delegation, although the Eagles wanted to send one, because the fans “deserve better.”
Trump has just issued this statement about the Philadelphia Eagles’ visit tomorrow:
He says that the 1,000 fans planning to attend the ceremony are still welcome, but they will instead be celebrating the heroes that fight to protect our country and will “loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.”
The NFL recently announced a new policy requiring players to stand for the anthem if they’re on the field before a game. However, players have the option to remain in the locker room without punishment if they so choose. Trump had suggested players who kneel be fired, stating that owners should respond to players taking a knee by saying: “Get that son of a b–ch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!”
“For a week, (that owner would) be the most popular person in this country. Because that’s a total disrespect of our heritage. That’s a total disrespect for everything we stand for,” Trump said.
Getty
The White House Press Secretary released the following statement Monday evening:
The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony-one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem. I will be there at 3:00 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney released a statement shortly after the news broke, stating that President Trump “disinviting them [the Eagles] from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obesessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend.”
He talked about how proud he was of the team, and the fact that Eagles players stand up for causes they believe in. He then claimed that Philadelphia’s city hall was always open for a celebration.
Philly mayor Jim Kenney’s statement is pointed.
After President Trump disinvited the #Eagles to the White House, Kenney calls him “a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend.”
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf released a similar statement stating that “no amount of silliness in Washington will damper our enthusiasm or take away the victory for the Eagles or their fans.”
Statement from @GovernorTomWolf spokesman: “Pa. is proud of our Super Bowl champions and their contributions to our commonwealth on and off the field. No amount of political silliness in Washington will damper our enthusiasm or take away the victory for the Eagles or their fans.”
This is a developing story. Heavy will update as more information is known.