On Monday night, the New York Giants responded to President Donald Trump’s claim earlier that day that he had warned the team not to let Saquon Barkley leave in free agency.
Giants spokesperson Pat Hanlon told NJ Advance Media that “there were no conversations” between Trump and the organization regarding Barkley. Following Trump’s comments, Hanlon also took to Twitter, writing: “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!! @realDonaldTrump.” He later clarified the tweet reflected his personal opinion, not an official team stance.
Barkley, the Giants’ former star running back, left in free agency last offseason and signed with their NFC East rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. The decision came back to haunt New York, as Barkley went on to have a historic season — rushing for 2,005 yards, the eighth-highest single-season total in NFL history — and helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship.
On Monday, Barkley and the Eagles visited the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs. Trump, who had spent the previous day golfing with Barkley, addressed the team and used the opportunity to recount a conversation he claimed to have had with Giants head coach Brian Daboll and others.
“I told them, ‘Do whatever it takes — but don’t lose Saquon.’ And they lost him,” Trump said. Barkley and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, standing behind him, smiled and laughed. (Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts was notably absent from the ceremony.)
Trump continued, criticizing the Giants’ decision to let Barkley walk: “That was not good. I called that one. It was an easy call — he played damn well for the Giants. But he made the right move. Football is a team sport, and he’s surrounded by great talent here.”
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