Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, fresh off a stellar 2024 season that saw him earn first-team All-Pro honors, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, and a Super Bowl ring, has found himself at the center of controversy following a weekend outing with President Donald Trump. The news, which broke on April 29, 2025, via a First Things First segment titled “Nick’s Mock Draft 3.0: Chiefs take Josh Simmons at No. 31, Eagles pick Josh Conerly Jr. at No. 32,” has been compounded by the resurfacing of deleted tweets from Barkley’s fiancée, Anna Congdon, adding fuel to an already fiery public backlash.
Barkley, who signed with the Eagles in March 2024 after six seasons with the New York Giants, had a career-defining year, rushing for 2,105 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding 562 receiving yards and 5 scores, per Pro Football Reference. His performance powered the Eagles to a 14-3 regular-season record and a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Detroit Lions, 31-27, on February 9, 2025, in New Orleans. However, his decision to spend Sunday, April 27, 2025, with Trump at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, followed by a trip to Washington, D.C., on Marine One, drew sharp criticism. The Eagles were scheduled to visit the White House the next day to celebrate their Super Bowl win, but Barkley’s outing with Trump—coming on the heels of a similar golf day with former President Barack Obama earlier in the month—sparked a firestorm on social media. Barkley defended himself on X, stating, “I’ve golfed with Obama too. I’m not picking sides—I’m just playing golf,” as reported by The Guardian. Still, the backlash was swift, with some fans accusing him of political insensitivity during a polarizing election year.
The controversy deepened when deleted tweets from Anna Congdon, Barkley’s fiancée, resurfaced online. Congdon, who has been with Barkley since 2017 when they met at Penn State, posted the tweets in 2018 as a teenager, casually using the N-word in a manner that has since drawn widespread condemnation. Screenshots of the tweets, which Congdon deleted in 2018 after they first surfaced, began trending again before the Super Bowl in February 2025 and have now reemerged amid Barkley’s Trump outing. One X user commented, “His wife is white. What did yall expect,” reflecting the racial undertones that have amplified the scrutiny. The Times of India reported that the tweets, which include multiple instances of the racial slur, were originally posted when Congdon was 19, but their reappearance has reignited debate about accountability and privilege, particularly given Barkley’s high-profile status as a Black athlete.
Barkley and Congdon, who announced their engagement on February 4, 2025, shortly before the Super Bowl, have been a public couple for nearly eight years and share two children, Jada, born in 2018, and Saquon Jr., born in 2022. Barkley has often credited Congdon for his success, telling People magazine in February 2025, “I can’t be the athlete I am and have the success I have in my career without the help of her.” The couple, both 27, attended the 2024 NFL Honors together, where Barkley was named Offensive Player of the Year, and have been fixtures at league events. However, Congdon’s past social media activity continues to haunt her. Business Insider noted that the tweets first gained attention in 2018, prompting Congdon to scrub her Twitter history before 2015, but screenshots preserved by internet users have kept the issue alive. The latest wave of attention, tied to Barkley’s Trump visit, has led some to question whether Congdon will ever escape the fallout, despite the posts being from her teenage years.
The Eagles, who are 3-1 in 2025 after a 34-17 win over the Giants on April 27—where Barkley rushed for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns—have remained silent on the matter. However, the controversy threatens to overshadow Barkley’s on-field brilliance. His 2024 season included a franchise-record 255 rushing yards in a single game against the Rams, earning him his fourth NFC Offensive Player of the Week award of the year, and he finished third in MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, per NFL.com. As the Eagles prepare for a Week 5 matchup against the Saints on May 4, 2025, Barkley’s performance will likely remain under scrutiny, but the off-field narrative surrounding his fiancée’s past and his own political associations may prove harder to outrun than any defender. For now, the reigning Super Bowl champions are navigating uncharted waters, balancing their star player’s personal controversies with their pursuit of another title.
