Jalen Hurts did not attend the Philadelphia Eagles’ meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House Monday afternoon.
NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor first broke the news on X. The White House said Hurts and other Eagles players — who were not named — would not attend due to “scheduling conflicts,” according to Alcindor.
In addition to Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and some members of the Eagles defense also did not attend the ceremony, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.
While attending a Time Magazine event celebrating his inclusion in the 2025 TIME100 list earlier this month, Hurts was asked if he would attend the team’s White House visit. Hurts dodged the question, however.
“Umm,” Hurts replied. Several seconds of silence followed before the reporter said, “Got it, thank you,” and Hurts walked away.
Meanwhile, Hurts’ superstar teammate Saquon Barkley drew criticism after meeting with Trump at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, and then flying back with the president to Washington, D.C. on Sunday, ahead of the team’s White House visit.
Barkley responded to the criticism on his X account Monday morning.
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Last month, the Eagles “enthusiastically accepted” an invitation to the White House, an official confirmed with NBC10.
That news came amid rumors that the Eagles were going to turn down an offer, which had not been offered at the time. A source told NBC Sports Philadelphia that was not the case, however, and that the Eagles planned to go to the White House if President Trump invited them.
The team did not visit the White House after winning its first Super Bowl in franchise history in 2018. The White House rescinded the invitation the night before the scheduled June 2018 visit after what then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called a “political stunt” by the Eagles. Instead of going to Washington, D.C., that day, the Eagles stayed in South Philadelphia and added an OTA practice.
