President Joe Biden and the Kansas City Chiefs left it all on the field (or lawn) on Friday.
The White House kept with tradition by hosting the championship-winning NFL team for a meeting with the president, who at one point donned a Chiefs helmet in support.
“Welcome back to the White House!” Biden said at the podium on the South Lawn, as his visitors stood behind him. “Super Bowl LVIII champions, the Kansas City Chiefs! The first team in 20 years to win back-to-back.
“Winning back-to-back,” he repeated. “I kinda like that.”
The allusion to his bid for reelection over former President Donald Trump in this year’s upcoming election drew audible laughs for Biden, who went on to laud the Chiefs for their determination “to work harder” and “dig deeper” to win.
“That’s the powerful lesson about sports and the nation,” he said. “We’re a great nation because we’re a good people. We never give up. We look out for one another. We leave no one behind. That’s America.”
Before calling tight end Travis Kelce to the podium, Biden hesitated and said: “I’d have Travis up here, but God only knows what he’d say.”
Kelce, who started dating Taylor Swift as the team fought their way to the Super Bowl, took his place.
“My fellow Americans,” said Kelce, to laughter from his teammates and the crowd. “It’s nice to see you all again. I’m not gonna lie, President Biden, they told me if I came up here I’d get tased. So I’m gonna go back to my spot, alright?”
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While the tradition of inviting sports teams to the White House dates back to the 1800s, it was unclear until Friday if kicker Harrison Butker would attend. In a polarizing commencement speech he gave last month widely panned for its sexism, the conservative footballer claimed Biden supports “the murder of innocent babies.”
Butker was reportedly seen at the event along with his teammates.
Friday’s celebration went off without a hitch, however, and even saw Biden don a Chiefs helmet towards the end of the gathering.
For quarterback Patrick Mahomes, that was a highlight.
“It was cool to see him put the helmet on,” he told reporters. “We didn’t expect that.”