Obama Welcomes New England Patriots to White House, Jokes About ‘Deflate-Gate’
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Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama welcomed the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots to the White House on Thursday, but didn’t miss the chance for a bit of a punchline.
“I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events,” Obama said Thursday, “but with the Patriots in town I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat.” The joke was a reference to the controversial “Deflate-gate” scandal in which the Patriots were accused of deflating footballs during the playoffs.
Obama, a Chicago sports fan, congratulated the Patriots for “their leadership on and off the field.”
“I just wish the city of Boston would share some of those titles you keep winning with Chicago,” he remarked. Boston sports teams have won nine championships since 2002.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not attend Thursday’s event.
In February, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest joked that while it had long been clear that he was no threat to Brady’s job, the star quarterback’s handling of the scandal proved “there’s no risk of [Brady] taking my job either.”
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