Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts declined to answer a reporter's question Thursday night when asked if he'll join the team for a visit with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
Hurts, who won Super Bowl MVP honors in the Eagles' win over the Kansas City Chiefs in February, evaded the question while attending a Time Magazine event recognizing his inclusion in this year's TIME100 list. In a video of the exchange, Hurts responds, "Ummm," and then pauses before ending the interview with the reporter.
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Will Jalen Hurts visit the White House next week? pic.twitter.com/a82rZwnK0a
— TIME (@TIME) April 25, 2025
The Eagles confirmed in March that they had accepted the Trump administration's White House invitation. The team did not meet with Trump during his first term after winning the Super Bowl in 2018. Trump rescinded his offer that year because only a few players had committed to attend, and most of the team's Black leaders — including outspoken safety Malcolm Jenkins — declined to go. Trump had spent months that season criticizing NFL players who refused stand or take the field during performances of the national anthem as a way to protest social injustices.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who once described Trump's first term as "disastrous," struck a different tone earlier this month when asked about the decision to go to the White House this year.
“We just felt this is a time-honored tradition, being invited by the White House,” Lurie told reporters. “There was no reticence whatsoever. To be celebrated at the White House is a good thing.”
During the same news conference, Lurie said player attendance at the White House visit will be optional.
“If you want to enjoy this, come along and we’ll have a great time. … This is really just an invitation to the White House. We’re not politicizing it in any way," Lurie said.
The Eagles did not respond Friday when asked how many players and coaches the team expects to participate in the White House visit. The White House has not yet released details about what time the Eagles will meet with the president.
Hurts' lack of response on Thursday comes amid speculation about which Eagles players will be in Washington on Monday. Earlier this month, star running back Saquon Barkley was photographed with the president's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, while attending the J.P. Morgan Tech 100 Summit alongside Tom Brady.
Had an amazing time at the J.P. Morgan tech 100 summit! Want to give a shoutout to Madhu for having me out. Want to also give a shoutout to everyone who made it amazing @eglyman , @BobbyKotick , @JoshuaKushner ,@traestephens , @karimatiyeh , @IvankaTrump , @jaredkushner ,… pic.twitter.com/ODruuSXmkE
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) April 3, 2025
The president, who attended Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, praised the Eagles' performance days later during an appearance on the radio show of Fox News host Mark Levin.
”The Eagles were really, it was like flawless football, amazing,” Trump told Levin, an Elkins Park native, who joined the Trump administration last week as part of a Homeland Security council.
Trump has also invited the Chiefs to visit the White House to make up for the team's missed opportunity when they won the Super Bowl during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A date for that visit has not been set. The Chiefs visited former President Joe Biden in each of the last two years following their back-to-back Super Bowl wins.