The Eagles finally made it to the White House this time, unlike in 2018. QB Jalen Hurts and a few other players were missing. But most of the squad pulled up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Among the attendees were Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, HC Nick Sirianni, GM Howie Roseman, Philly’s star RB Saquon Barkley, and plenty of others. While a lot of things said at the event are making headlines, one comment, in particular, had Giants Senior VP of Communications Pat Hanlon speaking his mind.

Well, as the President claimed, he once tried to play GM for the NY Giants. During the Eagles’ visit to the White House on Monday, Donald Trump said he warned the Giants not to let Barkley walk in free agency. And surprisingly, the President’s claims were news to the Giants. As soon as the word reached their ears, Giants Senior VP of Communications Pat Hanlon stepped up to set the record straight. Hanlon had a two-word response to Trump’s claims: “no conversations.” According to Front Office Sports, Hanlon denied having any discussion like that with the President.

Then, Hanlon tossed in some personal flair on X, where his bio reads, “the views and opinions expressed here are my own.” Staying true to that, he fired off a post tagging Trump, “With all due respect, stop yapping. Be the leader we all want you to be. And my 401K wants you to be. I’m trying to retire!!“

Other than that, the President also advocated for Philly’s infamous tush push, saying, “They’re talking about getting rid of that play, I understand. They should keep it. … I like it. It’s sort of exciting and different.” But the real star of the moment was Saquon Barkley, who received high praise from President Trump. As he spoke to the media, Trump couldn’t help but shower the star RB with compliments. In fact, Barkley was even spotted spending time with the President a day before the scheduled White House visit. “You got the ball to your superstar running back, who I met yesterday. And I want to tell you, he’s a handsome guy. But I wouldn’t want to tackle him,” joked Trump.

Not only did Trump give Saquon Barkley his well-deserved flowers, but he kind of rubbed a little salt in the Giants’ open wounds. Reminding them of a mistake that keeps John Mara up at night.

What exactly did Trump tell the Giants about Saquon Barkley?

“I’m going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that.” John Mara’s words to Giants GM Joe Schoen will never be forgotten. During last year’s third episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, Mara was having a conversation with Schoen about Saquon’s contract talks. “As I’ve told you. I’m just being honest. I haven’t been around enough players, but he’s the most popular player we have by far,” he told Schoen. The deal could not work out, and they lost him to the Eagles. The rest, of course, is history. 

In his very first season with the team, Barkley led Philly to a Super Bowl win while earning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors. Naturally, letting go of Barkley will always haunt the NY Giants. And during Philly’s visit to the White House, President Trump also reminded the Giants of their regretful decision. Speaking to the media, Trump claimed that he had told the NY Giants members, including  HC Brian Daboll, to keep Barkley on team. “And by the way, I have to tell you something. I was with the Giants and the head coach and some people, and I said, do anything you have to, but don’t lose Saquon.”

Well, Pat Hanlon denied that, but the President stated, “They lost Saquon. That was not good. I called that one. That was an easy one to call because he played damn well for the Giants, I can tell you that.” Well, Trump’s remarks have certainly added another layer to an already emotional chapter in New York’s recent history. “But he made the right decision. Because it is a team sport and there are great people in this team,” he further added.

Well, whether or not the conversation happened, it has once again brought up questions about the Giants’ brass decision-making. Pat Hanlon’s comments have only fueled the frenzy. The White House has yet to respond to a request for comment.