The NFL’s leading rusher last season now seems to be gaining favor with President Donald Trump.

Saquon Barkley, the running back who romped to a career-high 2,005 yards in leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl title, was spotted Sunday with the president on Marine One and at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., at a table full of MAGA hats.

“What a nice guy he is,” the president said of his superstar companion. “I wanted to race him, but I decided not to do it.”

The two later disembarked from the helicopter at the White House where Barkley shook hands with Trump’s grandson Theodore Kushner.

Barkley and his Eagles teammates were scheduled to visit the White House on Monday to celebrate their championship.

It appears Barkley is not using the same political playbook as Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts. When asked last week if he was going to attend the White House ceremony, Hurts said “ummmm” and nothing else.

Trump rescinded an invite to the Eagles after they won the Super Bowl in 2018 because several players said they would not attend. In his first term, Trump’s relationship with part of the sports world declined after he criticized athletes who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality.