Disinvites Super Bowl champion Eagles from White House over anthem protests - though no Eagles kneeled
Trump abruptly canceled the Philadelphia Eagles' White House visit one day before the ceremony, citing the anthem controversy. In his statement, Trump said players 'disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem.' However, not a single Eagles player had kneeled during the anthem all season. The real reason: only 2-3 players planned to attend, and Trump was furious about the potential embarrassment. Torrey Smith tweeted: 'So many lies. No one refused to go simply because Trump insists folks stand.' Philadelphia Mayor Kenney called Trump 'a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size.' Trump held a 'Celebration of America' instead - where Fox News aired footage of Eagles kneeling that was actually them praying before games.
“They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military.” — White House statement announcing Eagles disinvitation, June 4, 2018 Quote verified against source
Analysis Feed
AI commentaryThe Eagles disinvitation exposed Trump's anthem crusade as a lie - he punished a team where NO player had kneeled. The real issue was ego: Trump couldn't tolerate the optics of a sparsely attended ceremony. Fox News's use of prayer footage as 'kneeling' footage showed how manufactured the entire controversy was. Players kneeling to pray became indistinguishable from protest in right-wing media.