Kenney doesn’t hold back on Trump after Eagles’ canceled White House visit, and gets some new fans

If President Trump's decision to disinvite the Eagles to the White House proved anything this week, it's that Mayor Kenney doesn't play around when it comes to defending Philadelphia.

Kenney was outspoken after Trump rescinded the offer to the team Monday, just 24 hours before their scheduled visit that's become tradition for the Super Bowl champions every year. Trump said the White House "canceled the event" after "only a small number of players decided to come" and instead held a "celebration of America" in lieu of the visit.

Trump and his aides claimed the team had backed out of the visit as "a political stunt" and that players "abandoned" their fans.

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In an initial statement, Kenney did not mince words, calling the president "not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac." He later tweeted that the cancellation was "another sad example of Trump's pathetic juvenile antics & failure to lead."

While it's not the first time Kenney has publicly sided against the president, his comments on the White House visit didn't stop there — and they earned him some new fans along the way.

Appearing on CNN, Kenney talked about the positive roles the Eagles have played in Philly, and noted that he "love[s] them all" and would "stand with them any time."

 >>READ MORE: Eagles players Zach Ertz, Chris Long rip Fox News over misleading segment on national anthem protests

He said: "I think that this is all a stunt and I think that the president is playing the NFL like a fiddle and these players are caught in the middle."

In case his point wasn't already crystal-clear, Kenney kept swinging on NBC News.

"Donald Trump is meaningless to this whole process," he said. "He's meaningless to this city and the city's success. He tries at every chance he gets to tear cities down, and eventually he'll be gone one way or the other and we'll move on."

He also brought up Trump's own patriotism in yet another interview on CNN.

While there were, of course, the naysayers — Kenney's don't-mess-with-us attitude jived well with many who have been watching the events unfold.

Instead of the White House visit, the Eagles spent their Tuesday at practice. Defensive end Chris Long squeezed in some time to video-chat with about 100 seventh graders in Marlton, too.

At a press conference Wednesday, coach Doug Pederson avoided much discussion over the visit, but added that he had been "looking forward to going down" to Washington, D.C., for the White House visit.

"We did something last season that was very special," Pederson said. "A milestone here in the city of Philadelphia, and I was looking forward to going down and being recognized as world champions."