Eagles visit Trump to celebrate their Super Bowl 59 victory at the White House

The Philadelphia Eagles visited U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to celebrate their Super Bowl 59 victory at the White House, following the annual tradition that, in 2018, was not fulfilled during President Trump's own first term and the Eagles' Super Bowl 52 victory, when several players and staff members decided not to attend the ceremony, causing the invitation to be canceled.

In this case, the invitation was again extended, and most of the players and the Eagles owner himself, Jeffrey Lurie, expressed their appreciation and intention to visit Trump at the White House.

"We just felt this is a time-honored tradition being invited by the White House," Lurie said earlier this month. "So there was no reticence whatsoever. To be celebrated at the White House is a good thing. There were special circumstances [in 2018] that were very different, and so this was kind of an obvious choice and look forward to it."

During the ceremony, the Eagles presented President Trump with a soccer helmet and a jersey with the number 47 and his name, in honor of his tenure.

The president was jovial and grateful to the Eagles for agreeing to the visit, especially singling out running back Saquon Barkley, who received praise from the president.

"And you got the ball to your superstar running back, who I met yesterday, and I want to tell you, he is a handsome guy, but I wouldn’t want to tackle him—Saquon Barkley," Trump said during the ceremony before extending his hand to one of the NFL's best players.

Barkley had drawn some criticism Sunday for playing golf with Trump at his club in Bedminster, N.J., and flying with the president himself to Washington.

The player responded to the criticism on social media.

"Lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT," Barkley wrote. "Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day."

The visit did not go unnoticed, however, even generating controversy over the absences of players such as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and especially quarterback Jalen Hurts, the MVP of the Super Bowl.

According to various reports, White House officials explained that the few players who did not attend had "scheduling conflicts."

During the ceremony, President Trump was joking, even recalling the singer Taylor Swift's presence and booing the Eagles' official motto: "Let me just say, FLY EAGLES FLY, right?"