Sanders blames Eagles for ‘political stunt’
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ripped the Eagles in a news conference Tuesday afternoon, accusing the organization of pulling “a political stunt” that she said resulted in the cancellation of a Super Bowl celebration on the South Lawn.
Sanders claimed that the Eagles tried to reschedule the event to a time when President Trump would be out of the country and later offered to send “only a tiny handful of representatives” to Tuesday’s celebration, reiterating claims that she had provided in a written statement earlier in the day. She also blamed the Eagles for the last-minute change and defended the president, who routinely has criticized the NFL.
“The Eagles were the ones that tried to change their commitment at the 11th hour and the president frankly thinks that the fans deserve better than that and therefore we changed the ceremony to be a focus on celebrating our great country,” Sanders said.
“Look, if this wasn’t a political stunt by the Eagles franchise, then they wouldn’t have planned to attend the event and backed out at the last minute.”
Sanders faced repeated questions Tuesday, not just about that change but also about the broader issue of NFL players who protest during the national anthem, which Trump has referenced dozens of times on social media over the past eight months.
At one point, a reporter interrupted Sanders to ask if the president was aware that the protests were a response to police-involved shootings and not meant to disrespect the military. She said only that “the president has made his position crystal clear on this topic.”
A second reporter later asked Sanders why the president supported the rights of a Colorado baker to express himself — referring to a Monday decision by the Supreme Court — but does not support the rights of NFL players to do the same.
“The president doesn’t think that this is an issue simply of free speech,” Sanders said. “He thinks it’s about respecting the men and women of our military. It’s about respecting our national anthem.”
For weeks, the Eagles had been scheduled to visit the White House on Tuesday like other professional sports champions before them. Then, less than 24 hours before the scheduled ceremony, the White House announced that Trump had withdrawn the invitation and the White House would play the national anthem and “celebrate America” in a ceremony at the same time and location.
And so as Sanders’ news conference was wrapping up, a largely suit-clad crowd of purported Eagles fans was gathering on the South Lawn for a celebration that featured no players from their favorite team. The ceremony amounted to the playing of The StarSpangled Banner and God Bless America and brief remarks from Trump.
“This is a beautiful big celebration. Actually, to be honest, it’s even bigger than we had anticipated,” said Trump, who spoke for four minutes and did not mention the NFL or the Eagles.
The president did not respond to questions shouted at him by reporters as he left the event.
John Killion, a life-long Eagles fan and Trump supporter from Cape Coral, Fla., told USA TODAY that he was “devastated” and “infuriated” to learn that the Eagles would not be on hand for the ceremony.
But he said he believed the White House and blamed the Eagles for what transpired.
“I didn’t like the way that the Eagles ownership handled the invitation to the White House,” Killion said. “They left the president in limbo for weeks and months. And I’m not surprised he pulled the invitation.”
The Eagles opted to hold a practice Tuesday in lieu of their previously planned trip to Washington. The team declined to comment on Sanders’ remarks, but players will be available for interviews following Wednesday’s session of organized team activities in Philadelphia.