Like a fan who is only at the concert because they won a free ticket, Captain America, Donald Trump, seemed a little stumped by the words to a patriotic anthem at his Concert for Patriotism and Definitely Not the Eagles But Only the Flag and Standing For It Et Cetera.
After numerous Eagles players were reportedly disinterested in attending today's White House celebration in honor of their recent Super Bowl win, the petty prez made like an Alanis song and uninvited them. The city clapped back en masse, including a rancorous set of tweets from Mayor Jim Kenney. But today's event, which was reframed as a celebration of America (and presumably some of what it stands for and all who stand for what it stands for and those who stan for those who stand for what it stands for), went off Eagles-less.
When the United States Army Chorus launched into "God Bless America," written by Russian immigrant Irvin Berlin, Trump seemed stumped, mouthing the words for the first verse before switching to nodding along to the beat. Patriotically.
While the crowd gathered at the White House for the event didn't match the thousands the president said were expected, they did seem both into the display of national pride and also into a display of Eagles pride.
Politico's Annie Karni reports that as of last night, the Eagles were only planning to send two team members and their mascot, an Eagles named Swoop.
Calls to the Philly Phanatic for its take were not returned at press time.
R. Eric Thomas is a columnist for ELLE.com, where he skewers politics, pop culture, celebrity shade, and schadenfreude. He is also the author of Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, a memoir-in-essays.
