The biggest problem with the Democratic Party — well, okay, one of its biggest problems — is its intolerance for anyone who doesn’t display unquestionable loyalty and ideological purity. There can be no such thing as a “moderate” Democrat or one who respects other elected offices, even if they’re held by a member of the opposite party. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that NFL running back Saquon Barkley took a ton of left-wing heat for daring to play golf with President Donald Trump last week.
The member of the Super Bowl–winning Philadelphia Eagles spent some time golfing with Trump over the weekend and is now pushing back against liberal critics calling for his cancellation, just a day before the team’s scheduled White House celebration. Barkley, 28, the Eagles’ starting running back and an avid golfer, fired back at critics in a social media post Sunday, saying they were upset “cause I played golf and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT.”
“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,” he went on, adding that he recently golfed with former President Barack Obama, “and look forward to finishing my round with Trump!” Barkley rushed for over 2,000 yards in his first season with the team, helping lead them to a Super Bowl LIX victory over the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs. In the final game, the Bronx native and Penn State alum broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season, surpassing the mark previously held by Broncos legend Terrell Davis.
Some things, like a love of country, should be above politics he suggested while telling his critics to get a life. “Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have amazing day,” he joked, including a cry-laughing emoji.
A photo of Barkley and Trump quickly went viral on social media that same day, showing the two surrounded by about a dozen Make America Great Again hats as the president delivered an animated speech to those gathered.
The White House confirmed in March that the Eagles had accepted its invitation to join President Trump—a stark contrast to the team’s 2018 decision to boycott the White House after winning their first Super Bowl. At the time, several players cited Trump’s criticism of national anthem protests, particularly the ‘show hatred for America by kneeling’ movement led by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The golf outing with Trump wasn’t Barkley’s first interaction with the first family. He previously attended the J.P. Morgan Tech 100 Summit, where he was spotted spending time with Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, their son Theodore, and Jared’s brother, Joshua. But to Democrats, all of this represents nothing more than a ‘betrayal’ of the country…because ‘Trump is Hitler.’ Only, Democrats are the ones behaving like intolerant authoritarians.