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Baltimore Raven’s principal coach John Harbaugh defended his recent meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House when a reporter confronted the coach on Wednesday.
Harbaugh and several family members – including his brother, Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh – were invited to the White House earlier this month.
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Baltimore Raven’s principal coach John Harbaugh talks to journalists after a NFL football match against Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday 21 December 2024 in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
During his media availability at Ravens Training Camp on Wednesday, a reporter framed a question about the visit of Trump’s previous comments that criticized Baltimore as a city.
The Ravens coach criticized the reporter for the framing of the question and insisted that he “roots” for the president.
“How you framed that question – I would have framed the question like, ‘You got a chance to visit the president, man. How was that experience?'” Said Harbaugh. “It was astonishing. It was great. And I promise you that I root for our president. I want our president to succeed, just as I want my quarterback to be successful and I want my team to succeed and it was a great experience. It’s not often that you are invited and you get a chance to do something like a family.”
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Harbaugh continued to tell his and his brother’s experiences of meeting former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.
Baltimore Raven’s main coach John Harbaught speaks during a press conference at the NFL Football Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
“And it’s the fourth president [I’ve met]. Now Jim has met seven [presidents]. Jim has met seven presidents, so he has the lead on me. I think he pointed it out; Did you notice? He has seven; I have four.
“So I had a chance to meet president [Barack] Obama twice. Incredible experience. I had a chance to meet president [Joe] Bid, when he was Vice President of Iraq and I spent a lot of time with him in Iraq, which was fantastic.
“And then [when I was] 24 or 25 years old Jim was invited to the White House to meet President [Ronald] Reagan because he was a Heisman trophy -fall candidate and we had to go as a family, so I met President Reagan. I have a picture in my office with it. So these are moments that I definitely cherish and it means a lot. “
Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh talked positively about the visit during a press conference last Wednesday.
Los Angeles Charger’s principal coach Jim Harbaugh tosses a football on the field before the game against Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on December 15, 2024. (Jayne Kamin-Concea-Published Pictures)
“There is a lot of gratitude there to be invited to the White House to meet the president with my family, my mother and father. President Trump was just great for my mother and father. It meant so much. My brother John; his daughter Allison; my two daughters, Addie and Katie; and my sister Joanie; and my niece Ainsley.
“I mean that the White House will be invited with eight other family members and don’t go? None.”
