Eagles star Mailata nervous singing for the Bidens at White House holiday party
PHILADELPHIA − Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata said he has never been this nervous before.
Not at the Super Bowl last February, not trying to make the Eagles’ roster as a seventh-round pick in 2018 having grown up as a rugby player in Australia.
None of that compared with singing in front of President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden at the White House holiday party last week.
“We got to speak to President Biden and Dr. Jill for probably about 45 minutes,” Mailata said. “That was probably the surreal part of it. I thought it was going to be like ‘Oh, hi.’ We spoke for a little bit. And then he took us to the Oval Office. He’s like, randomly, you guys ever been to the Oval Office? I said, ‘Mr. President, it’s my first time here. I don’t know how I even got in here.’
“He escorted us with, I don’t know how many Secret Service people there were, it seemed like there were 100 in there, but he escorted us to the Oval Office.”
Mailata was accompanied by Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson and director of player development Connor Barwin for the staff holiday party at the White House on Dec. 21. The intention was to surprise first lady Jill Biden, a longtime Eagles fan.
Mailata sang “This Christmas,” one of the songs on the Eagles’ Christmas album, “A Philly Special Christmas Special.”
Mailata said that at first, he wasn’t sure if he should go. At the time, the Eagles were in the midst of a three-game losing streak. “I’m like, ‘Do I really want to go and sing? Especially when we’re losing?’” Mailata said. “I said, ‘(Expletive) it.’ Like, it’s an opportunity.”
To Mailata, it was worth it. He said President Biden “entertained us with a couple of stories about the history of the White House.”
Then he added: “That was wild. If you had told me a couple years ago that I’d even be a starter in the NFL, I’d probably laugh in your face. But if you told me that I was going to be singing in the White House and then have an opportunity to spend time with the president of the USA and the first lady, I’d probably just walk away from you.”