The Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their back-to-back Super Bowl titles at The White House on Friday afternoon – with the entire team in attendance for the event – as the President had a funny exchange with Travis Kelce.
President Joe Biden made remarks on the White House’s South Lawn about the team’s success and the tragedy of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade that ended with the death of one woman and injuries to 22 others.
After he gave his speech, the President joked, ‘I’d have Travis come up here but God only knows what he’d say,’ before inviting Kelce up to the mic
‘My fellow Americans, it’s nice to see you all again,’ Kelce joked briefly – a flashback to the year prior when he tried taking the mic at the event.
‘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,’ Kelce said before shaking Biden’s hand.
Travis Kelce cracked another joke at the White House during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl visit
President Biden opened with remarks before turning it over to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt
1 Arrowhead Dr ➡️ 1600 Pennsylvania Ave pic.twitter.com/B1p4RPibOp
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 31, 2024
After that, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt gave a speech. Once that ended, Biden was handed a Chiefs helmet that he successfully put on his head.
It’s long-standing tradition for championship sports teams, both professional and collegiate, to be invited to the White House.
The Chiefs have won the Super Bowl three times in the past five years. In 2023, they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, first lady Jill Biden’s favorite football team. She grew up near Philadelphia and attended the game.
Kansas City also defeated San Francisco to claim the 2020 Super Bowl title.
The Chiefs shared on social media early Friday that ‘we’re celebrating our back-to-back championship seasons and victory in Super Bowl LVIII at the White House.’
Kicker Harrison Butker, who made headlines by assailing some of Biden’s policies during a commencement speech earlier this month, also accompanied his teammates to the White House.
Butker recently defended his comments, saying he had no regrets about expressing his beliefs.
In the May 16 speech at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, Butker congratulated the women who were receiving degrees and said most of them were probably more excited about getting married and having children.
The Lombardi Trophy and a Kansas City Chiefs helmet displayed at The White House
President Biden addresses the crowd while wearing a signed Kansas City Chiefs helmet
Rashee Rice and Wanya Morris also posed together as they got off the plane later on
Harrison Butker is expected to attend, despite his scathing recent comments about Biden
He criticized some of Biden’s policy positions, including the Democratic president’s condemnation of the Supreme Court´s reversal of its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, and his advocacy for freedom of choice.
Abortion is an issue that Biden and his fellow Democrats hope to use to their advantage in the November elections.
Butker also tackled Biden’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition to Butker, Rashee Rice and Wanya Morris – two teammates charged with criminal behavior in recent months – also showed up to the Presidential residence and office building.
Not present at the event was Taylor Swift, whose absence was bound to disappoint many in the White House.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was left deflecting questions earlier this week about whether the 34-year-old singer-songwriter would show up.
‘That’s a good question,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘I can’t speak to her schedule. But I know there’s a lot of interest in this building, on this campus.’
Swift was traveling abroad on her Eras tour, with a show scheduled Thursday in Madrid.
