Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney dubbed President Trump a “fragile egomaniac” in a scathing statement Monday evening reacting to the president disinviting the Philadelphia Eagles from a White House celebration of their Super Bowl victory last season due to the controversy surrounding national anthem protests.
Kenney, a Democrat, said the move “proves” Trump is no patriot.
“Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend,” Kenney said.
Contributing to the swipe about crowd size, a reference to Trump’s widely disputed boasts about the audience at his inauguration, was Kenney’s chief of staff Jane Slusser. She tweeted out a side-by-side photo comparison of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration and Eagles fans celebrating their team’s Super Bowl victory.
Our party was bigger than yours #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HIZk8xnJF1
— Jane Slusser (@janeslusser) June 5, 2018
Several members of the NFL team had already planned to skip the ceremony, a tradition for all major sports league champions, because they disagreed with Trump’s stance that all players should stand during the national anthem before games. Following a season of widespread national anthem demonstrations and declining TV ratings, NFL owners recently voted that players will either have to stand on the field for the national anthem or remain in the locker rooms, otherwise teams would be slapped with a fine.
In a statement earlier in the evening, the president emphasized his dismay that a smaller delegation of players and staff might attend the event planned for Tuesday and therefore he pulled the plug, arguing the display would be an affront to fans planning to be there.
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said. “The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.”
The event is still on the docket. Trump said he would be appearing at the afternoon ceremony alongside the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Army Chorus, and instead of celebrating the Eagle’s Super Bowl win, Trump said he would be celebrating America.
[Also read: NFL players union ‘disappointed’ by Trump’s decision to snub the Philadelphia Eagles]
Since the Eagles are no longer invited to the White House, Kenney offered City Hall as an alternative for the team’s celebration.
“The Eagles call the birthplace of our democracy home, so it’s no surprise that this team embodies everything that makes our country and our city great,” Kenney said. “Their athletic accomplishments on the field led to an historic victory this year. Fans all across the country rallied behind them because we like to root for the underdog and we feel joy when we see the underdogs finally win.”
He added: “I’m equally proud of the Eagles’ activism off the field. These are players who stand up for the causes they believe in and who contribute in meaningful ways to their community. They represent the diversity of our nation — a nation in which we are free to express our opinions.”
Meanwhile, at least two lawmakers from Pennsylvania, including Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, invited the team to the Capitol.
