Donald Trump continues to make headlines with his comments about Taylor Swift, this time during a White House event on Monday. The occasion was a celebration for the Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles secured their victory with a 40-22 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans back in February. Interestingly, Swift was present at the game to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Swift’s appearance on the jumbotron at the Caesars Superdome during the first quarter did not go as expected, as she was met with boos from the crowd. In contrast, Trump received cheers from fans as he marked his place in history as the first sitting President to attend a Super Bowl event.
Recalling the moment as he gave a speech in front of the Eagles, Trump said: ‘I watching in person. I was there along with Taylor Swift, how did that work out? How did that one work out?’
Trump’s comment about the singer was met with laughter on the South Lawn, but he left his taunting there.
After leaving the game in February, Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!’
Taylor Swift was booed at the Super Bowl in February, much to Donald Trump’s delight
Trump repeated his taunts of the singer as the Philadelphia Eagles visited the White House
Trump poses with the Eagles team after welcoming them to the White House on Monday
Of course, not only was Swift mercilessly booed but Kelce was on the brink of retiring after such a crushing loss. The Chiefs star has since walked back from the brink of quitting.
Swift has history with the Philadelphia Eagles. Months before she started dating Kelce, she told her fans at an Eras show in the city that she is an Eagles fan.
Her song ‘Gold Rush’ mentions an ‘Eagles T-shirt’ which fans debated whether it was about the band or the NFL team.
‘Guys, like, c’mon. I’m from Philly. Of course, it is the team,’ she told her fans at her show in Lincoln Financial Field – the stadium where the Eagles play.
Furthermore, her father Scott was publicly known to be an Eagles fan but since Swift and Kelce went public, they appear to be ardent Kansas City fans.
Trump’s comments come at a time when he is trying to secure a visit from the 2020 Chiefs team, who won the Super Bowl but were unable to enjoy a White House visit due to the pandemic.
It would see Trump potentially come face-to-face with Kelce, who offered a diplomatic view of the President when, on Super Bowl week, it emerged Trump would be at the game.
‘It’s awesome. It’s a great honor, I think no matter who the President is,’ Kelce told reporters.
Swift was joined by Ashley Avignone, Alana Haim, Este Haim and Danielle Haim for the game
It was a miserable night for Kelce, who almost retired after the game was finished
‘I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life and having the President there, it’s the best country in the world so it’s pretty cool.’
But it is hard to imagine that Kelce is one of Trump’s admirers given how he responded to her backing Kamala Harris at the last election.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!!’ after she released a lengthy statement endorsing Harris and the Democrats ahead of the November vote.
Trump is backed by the family of Patrick Mahomes, Kelce’s close friend on the Chiefs team.
Mahomes himself has never revealed who he has voted for but his wife Brittany and mother Randi have been public in their support for Trump.
Following months of speculation, the Philadelphia Eagles finally visited the White House to meet with Donald Trump Monday afternoon – even without some of their biggest stars.
But in spite of quarterback Jalen Hurts’ curious scheduling conflict, Trump took the high road with the Super Bowl MVP after gushing over Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.
‘Complementing Saquon’s historic season was an incredible year for a star quarterback Jalen Hurts,’ Trump told the crowd at the White House on Monday. ‘He really played, he had a great season and a great game. Finished with 32 touchdowns on the year, turning in one stellar performance after another, terrific guy.’
Trump welcomed the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia to the White House on Monday
Trump and Philadelphia Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley shake hands at the White House
Most of the Eagles roster traveled 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to toast their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, despite a number of prominent players, including Hurts, side stepping the invitation.
And it wasn’t just Hurts who was missing.
Wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, as well as defensive stars like Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, Jordan Davis, Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean and CJ Gardner-Johnson were also absent, according to reports.
The trip to the nation’s capital is traditional for all US sports teams who have clinched their respective championship but there had been doubt whether the NFL franchise would attend at all.
The team did not visit Washington to celebrate victory at Super Bowl LII in 2018. Trump – then in his first term if office – canceled the event after it emerged that only a handful of players were planning to attend. It came amid his war with the NFL over protests during the national anthem.
The Eagles did ultimately accept the offer after it was extended by the White House, but owner Jeffrey Lurie had insisted every player would be given the choice of whether to attend or not: ‘Our culture is that these are optional things.’
Lurie, a well-known supporter of Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 Presidential bid, is actually Trump’s neighbor in Palm Beach. But despite Lurie’s political leanings, Trump once again took the high road on Monday.
‘He’s my neighbors, right?’ Trump asked. ‘And he’s a good neighbor.’
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts DID not attend the team’s trip to the White House
Trump outed Eagles head of security Dom DiSandro as a supporter during the ceremony
In fact, there was really only one person who Trump insulted on Monday: Popstar, Kansas City Chiefs fan and Kamala Harris supporter, Taylor Swift.
Discussing Super Bowl LIX with the crowd, Trump admitted the ‘incredible game’ was ‘a little surprising.’
‘I was there, I watched in person,’ Trump said. ‘I was there along with Taylor Swift. How did that work out?’
Swift was booed at the Superdome when she was shown to the crowd on the scoreboard.
And some of the team’s biggest names took Lurie up on the freedom of choice with Hurts leading the pack.
It emerged earlier on Monday that the quarterback would not be celebrating his Super Bowl MVP alongside his teammates at the White House as he opted to skip the customary audience with the president.
The missing players are said to be absent due to ‘scheduling conflicts,’ according to NBC News’s Yamiche Alcindor.
