Donald Trump

Report: Donald Trump Was Mad at Tom Brady for Skipping White House Visit

Donald Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House this week, but this reportedly isn't the first time in his presidency that he has been upset with a Super Bowl champion.

The Washington Post reports that Trump was angry with Tom Brady last April after the Patriots quarterback announced his plans to skip the team's White House visit.

While other Patriots declined to make the trip in protest of Trump, Brady had said he intended to be with his ailing mother. However, according to the Washington Post, the president was concerned that the star quarterback's absence would reflect poorly on him.

Brady also declined to visit the White House in 2015 when Barack Obama was in office.

Throughout his political career, Trump has boasted of his ties with key members of the Patriots, campaigning for president in New England on his personal friendship with Brady and team owner Robert Kraft. Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, he spoke in support of Brady regarding his Deflategate suspension, and he read what he said was a letter from head coach Bill Belichick at a rally.

Trump even called Kraft as he attempted to "fix" the problem of Brady's White House absence, the Washington Post reported.

Brady and other Patriots were at Gillette Stadium Tuesday for minicamp. Safety Devin McCourty was asked about Trump's rescinded invitation to the Eagles.

"We're not surprised, are we?" he answered.

Tuesday, months after the Eagles defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the Trump administration blamed the team for the cancellation, accusing the organization of a "lack of good faith."

"Unfortunately, the Eagles offered to send only a tiny handful of representatives, while making clear that the great majority of players would not attend the event, despite planning to be in D.C. today," the White House said in a statement. "In other words, the vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans."

Less than 24 hours before the Eagles were set to visit, Trump cancelled the event, citing the ongoing national anthem controversy. The White House said in a statement that the Eagles "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 and the people of our country."

The team followed with a statement that it was "truly grateful for all of the support we have received," and that it had been "thrilling" to celebrate its first Super Bowl championship.

Trump replied with a tweet.

The president also pulled his invitation back from the Golden State Warriors after they won last year's NBA Finals.

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