The NFL star spoke about his intimidating experience at the White House on Friday, May 31
Travis Kelce is recalling his latest visit to the White House.
The Kansas City Chiefs star said the Secret Service “weren’t too happy” with him when he visited the Washington, D.C., landmark with his team on Friday, May 31, while discussing the events on the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast’s latest episode.
Kelce, 34, explained the reason for this was due to him having an “expired ID” when he last visited the White House with the Chiefs in June 2023, which he revealed in a previous Instagram Reel.
“I caught s— for that,” the NFL player shared, adding, “I made sure because of what happened last time and how embarrassed I was for going to the White House, with an expired ID, I made sure that I brought my passport this time so that it showed that I was a citizen in Missouri.”
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Travis Kelce in Hollywood, California, on July 11, 2023; the White House in Washington, D.C.
Kelce continued, “And I was official, and I was legit, and I was doing things the right way because everyone has to do that at the White House.”
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Despite everything being in check, the athlete said the Secret Service still intimidated him upon entering the White House.
“When I walked in, we had about four or five Secret Service members come up to me and tell me, ‘You know, if you go up to that podium, we’re authorized to tase you … It is actually an order for us to tase you,’ ” Kelce recalled.
PEOPLE has reached out to a media contact for the Secret Service for comment.
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During his previous White House visit in 2023, Kelce made a joking attempt to take over the presidential podium, before his teammate Patrick Mahomes stopped him.
“I’ve always admired, obviously, the president at the podium is iconic, right?” he said during a June 2023 podcast episode. “I shouldn’t have started off with ‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’ Pat knew right away I was in over my head. … Shout-out to Pat for keeping me from embarrassing myself at that podium, man, in front of the whole world.”
President Joe Biden then reversely offered for Kelce to speak at the podium — which he politely declined following the Secret Service’s taser warning.
“That’s all that was going through my head,” he said on the recent podcast episode. “I had no idea President Biden was gonna ask me to come up and let me have my moment … I felt [a] taser aimed at me when I was up there the whole time. That’s why I was up there, ‘Don’t make any quick movements. Be cool.’ ”
Despite the nerve-wracking experience, the Chiefs tight end described his second White House visit as “fun” overall.
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On Friday, the Chiefs were invited to the White House to celebrate their recent 2024 Super Bowl win against the San Francisco 49ers.
During their visit, President Biden, 81, invited Kelce to speak at the podium, which he did briefly before stepping back.
“My fellow Americans, it’s nice to see you all yet again,” Kelce joked to the crowd and his teammates at the time.
He continued, “I’m not going to lie. President Biden, they told me if I came up here, I’d get tased. I’m going to go back to my spot, all right?”
Travis Kelce Reveals He Was Threatened By The Secret Service During His Most Recent Visit To The White House
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has revealed being threatened by members of the Secret Service during his most recent visit to the White House.
Kelce literally had to be hauled off the presidential podium by teammate Patrick Mahomes after going rogue and sneaking up to it after the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl in 2023.
This time around, the All-Pro tight end was invited by President Joe Biden, so he finally got to say his piece.
“They told me if I came up here I’d get tased,” he said of the Secret Service.
“My fellow Americans…”@tkelce spoke briefly at the White House as @POTUS Joe Biden honored the Super Bowl LVIII Kansas City Chiefs.
Full video >>> https://t.co/YIvNJqhBlz pic.twitter.com/TIRpK6wM4Z
— KCTV5 News (@KCTV5) May 31, 2024
Travis Kelce Wasn’t Playing
It did appear that he was joking at the time. However, speaking on his ‘New Heights’ podcast this week, he revealed he was dead serious.
“That’s real. The Secret Service that’s all over the White House, they weren’t too happy with me on my second time visiting,” he said.
“When I walked in, we had about four or five Secret Service members come up to me and tell me, ‘You know if you go up to that podium, we’re authorized to taze you. It is actually an order for us to tase you.’
“That’s all that was going through my head. I had no idea that President Biden was going to ask me to come up and let me have my moment…I felt a taser aimed at me when I was up there the whole time.”
Now that this is out there, we’d bet that some fans, probably even some Chiefs supporters, would have loved to see Travis Kelce get tased by the Secret Service just for the laughs.
