Saquon Barkley discusses backlash from Trump hangout, Giants’ plight

Days before the Super Bowl LIX-winning Philadelphia Eagles visited the White House to celebrate their title, star running back Saquon Barkley took it a step further.

Fresh off a 2,000-yard campaign to be named Offensive Player of the Year, Barkley rode Air Force One and spent a day with President Donald Trump at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Barkley took a big hit, but defended himself at the time.

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“lol some people are really upset because I played golf and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley wrote to X at the time. “Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to grasp. Just played a round of golf with Obama not too long ago… looking forward to finishing my round with Trump! Now you get my mentions with all this politics and have a great day.”

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced Trump at an event in New York in May and received similar criticism. As someone with experience, Barkley learned the hard way that “you have to stay out of politics.”

“You’re not going to win. I played golf with the President of the United States, Mr. Trump, and I played with Barack Obama, and the one day I played with Trump, all these crazy things were said about me, and now I’m this person, I’m that person, and I don’t agree with — some of the things that I don’t even agree with. But you know you’re just not going to win that you’re just not going to win. You’re not going to win at that…” Barkley told Fox. News Digital in a recent interview.

President Donald Trump greets Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at a White House event welcoming the 2025 Super Bowl champion Eagles on the South Lawn in Washington, DC, April 28, 2025. Trump honored the Eagles after their second Super Bowl victory. (Getty Images)

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“It was a decision I made and I got a lot of backlash for it. I can understand why I got backlash for it. I don’t think the things that were said about me are true. I know it’s not true. It’s a lot of things that — just because, you know, I don’t come in like you have to be this or that. Just because you played golf with Obama, you just golf with Obama because you played golf with Barack. Don’t make yourself this, but in the world that we live in, the chaos that we live in, you’re either this or you’re that, and it’s just so far from the truth, but at the end of the day, I was blessed with a pretty cool opportunity.

Several teams, especially in the NBA, have jumped on the White House visit, but a DC trip for champions is all Barkley has ever known.

“You might not get that opportunity again, and it’s no guarantee we’re going to win a Super Bowl again, and if we win a Super Bowl, growing up my whole life, what do you do? You win a Super Bowl, you go to the White House, you represent your team,” he said.

Barkley was offered a position on Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, but declined.

However, the criticism Dart received was not only from outside, but also from his own dressing room. Defensive lineman Abdul Carter said he thought the video of the two was “AI,” adding, “What are we doing man?” Carter and Dart told reporters they discussed the matter and even hugged it out after speaking to the media about the ordeal.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart as he arrives to speak at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY on May 22, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)

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Barkley said he even talked to Dart about the situation and praised the Giants stars for having conversations with each other.

“I’m happy for him everything that went over there in New York, they put it in the past and get back to the ball,” Barkley said.