Eagles’ Jordan Mailata on latest White House visit: ‘I keep politics out of it. I don’t even have a vote.’
Mailata, an Australian, sang at the White House again and shook President Donald Trump’s hand at the Eagles’ celebration.
Jordan Mailata is no stranger to the White House, nor is he a stranger to singing within its walls.
The Eagles left tackle made his second appearance at the White House on Monday when President Donald Trump honored the Super Bowl-winning team with a ceremony on the South Lawn. Mailata had previously visited the White House when he, Lane Johnson, and Connor Barwin were invited to perform a song from the team’s Christmas album, A Philly Special Christmas Special, at the December 2023 staff holiday party during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The brief concert was a surprise for first lady Jill Biden, a fervent Eagles fan. Mailata performed at the White House once more on Monday, this time going solo at the behest of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
“I have one rule, and if Mr. Lurie asks you to sing, you sing,” Mailata told The Inquirer on Wednesday at the Philadelphia Music Alliance’s Walk of Fame gala, where the Eagles left tackle was honored on behalf of the Philly Specials, his musical trio with Johnson and Jason Kelce.
Mailata continued: “So he asked me to sing. I didn’t want to. But everyone was asking me to sing, but I said ‘No’ to everyone. Even Big Dom [DiSandro]. Big Dom was like, ‘Get up there and sing.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, no.’ Then when Mr. Lurie asked, signed, sealed, delivered.”
» READ MORE: Donald Trump shouts out Big Dom, who gets a chance to speak at Eagles’ White House ceremony
The 6-foot-8, 365-pound Mailata sang Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life,” accompanied by members of the United States Marine Band. He said he chose the song because it was in the band’s repertoire.
Mailata, a native of Australia, was one of approximately 32 players (including members of the 17-man practice squad) who attended the ceremony, joining other notable Eagles players such as Saquon Barkley, Dallas Goedert, and the rest of the starting offensive line.
A number of prominent starters did not attend, including Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun, Jalen Carter, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, and Quinyon Mitchell. A White House official told The Inquirer that the absent players had “scheduling conflicts.”
In 2018, Trump met the threat of no-shows with a much different reaction. Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win, Trump rescinded the team’s invitation to the White House, taking issue with the Eagles’ plan to send “a smaller delegation” in a statement.
» READ MORE: Jordan Mailata and his family of ‘fighters’ endured a turbulent stretch between Super Bowl appearances
Like Lurie did earlier this month at the league meetings, Mailata pushed back on the political nature of the team’s visit to the president’s workplace and residence.
“I just wanted to go,” Mailata said. “For me, I keep politics out of it, you know? I don’t even have a vote. So why am I going to get political? I’m not going to do anything, say something to him. I just can’t. So for me, it wasn’t a big deal. It was just like, ‘This is tradition.’ We’re getting recognized. Even someone who didn’t grow up here, I know that, yeah, the teams go to the White House. So for me it was just another excursion.”
At the ceremony, Trump spoke for approximately 15 minutes from a prepared speech about the Eagles’ accomplishments all season long. He singled out various contributors, including Mailata, and stumbled over the pronunciation of the left tackle’s last name.
Trump turned around and shook Mailata’s hand, then quipped, “These are big people,” before recognizing other members of the offensive line.
“Well I, honestly, was laughing,” Mailata said. “I did not expect him to say that in his speech. That’s for damn sure. It caught me off guard.”
Trump also lent his support for the Tush Push, the Eagles’ rendition of the quarterback sneak that they have popularized in recent years. The play could be banned if the Green Bay Packers’ proposed rule change is passed at the spring league meeting in Minneapolis later this month.
Mailata took Trump’s endorsement with a grain of salt, though.
“I don’t know how much he knows about that play,” Mailata said. “I guess he was just reading off the speech, whatever they told him to say. I didn’t really think much of any of it. The president was doing his thing, and it was kind of surreal just standing there.
“It was hot. Sun was beaming down on us. So it was kind of just like, ‘All right, let’s wrap this up, man. This is getting hot up here.’”