U.S. President Donald Trump has cancelled the Philadelphia Eagles reception at the White House scheduled for Tuesday. Traditionally, the winner of the Super Bowl is honored retrospectively by the President of the United States. The starting point seems to be the protest of some Eagles players while playing the US anthem.
“Few players have promised to come, so we have cancelled the reception,” Trump announced on Twitter. To remain in the cabin while the national anthem is playing is in Trump’s eyes just as “disrespectful to our country as to kneel down”.
Many Eagles players had previously refused the invitation to the White House, which Wide Receiver Torrey Smith did not want to attribute to the hymn dispute.
“So many lies. Nobody turned down the meeting just because Trump wants us to stand by the hymn. And the president continues to spread the false story that players are against the military,” the 29-year-old tweetted.
Trump received clear criticism for the cancellation of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s reception.
The cancellation of the reception shows that “the president is not a true patriot, but a weak egomaniac who is afraid to host a party that nobody wants to go to”.