Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called President Trump a "tyrant" who "is trying to turn this country into a dictatorship." The mayor made the comments on CBSN on Tuesday morning after the White House disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration for the team's Super Bowl victory. "Cities need to stand up in this country, and many mayors have stood up in this country against this tyrant," Kenney said. "He is trying to turn this country into a dictatorship by ignoring the courts and by saying and doing what he wants, by ignoring the Department of Justice ... and in the end this will all come to a conclusion, and it won't be a good ending for him." Kenney told CBSN's Vladimir Duthiers that the president "allies himself with strongmen around the world" and seemed to be "more comfortable" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On Monday night, the White House abruptly canceled a celebration for the Eagles' victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. But Kenney said that won't stop Philadelphia from celebrating its team. "Donald Trump ruins a lot of things, he can't ruin this," the mayor said. The White House's public explanation for why the event was canceled prompted some pushback. "They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country," Mr. Trump said in a statement issued by the White House. "The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better." Duthiers noted on CBSN that although one Eagles player kneeled for the anthem during the preseason, he was eventually cut from the team and none of the players who made the team kneeled during the anthem last season. On Monday, Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith, who had said that he planned to skip the visit, responded with a series of tweets disputing the president's claims. "So many lies," he wrote, adding, "Not many people were going to go." So many lies smh Here are some facts 1. Not many people were going to go 2. No one refused to go simply because Trump “insists” folks stand for the anthem 3. The President continues to spread the false narrative that players are anti military pic.twitter.com/89GUNhJ4eE — Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) June 4, 2018 A source close to the players said that less than 10 Eagles committed to attending the White House event, CBS News' Arden Farhi reports. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that 80 members of the Eagles organization had committed to attend the event as of Friday and then the team attempted to reschedule. "If this wasn't a political stunt by the Eagles franchise, then they wouldn't have planned to attend the event and then backed out at the last minute," Sanders said. Kenney said he didn't receive an explanation from the White House for the cancellation. "I don't hear from the White House on anything other than when we're suing them to keep them from defunding us because we're a welcoming sanctuary city," Kenney said. Still, the mayor said the cancellation wasn't exactly a surprise. "I wasn't shocked that he did that, but I was also kind of happy he did it because I didn't want this team to be disunited over this issue," Kenney said. "If he banned all of them from coming, then all of them as a team won't come. If that didn't happen, then some would have gone, some would have not gone, and hopefully that wouldn't have bled over into the locker room this season. So we can live without Donald Trump when we go after our second Super Bowl." The White House still held an event Tuesday afternoon but billed it as a "Celebration of America." Mr. Trump said on Twitter that the United States Marine Band and the U.S. Army Chorus would perform.<doc-sep>Our party was bigger than yours #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HIZk8xnJF1 — Jane Slusser (@janeslusser) June 5, 2018 PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Mayor Kenney's office responded to President Trump's disinviting of the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House by calling Trump a "fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend. "The Mayor's office issued a statement following Monday nights decision to rescind the White House invitiation to the Super Bowl Champions Kenney's chief of staff also chimed in on Twitter.Kenney said the team embodies everything that makes our country and city great and said the team is welcome at City Hall anytime.The following is the mayor's statement in its entirety:------<doc-sep>The chief of staff for Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) trolled President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE with side-by-side photos of Trump's inauguration crowd and Eagles fans celebrating the team’s Super Bowl win. “Our party was bigger than yours,” Jane Slusser tweeted in response to Trump’s decision to rescind the Eagles’ invitation to the White House because not all of the players wanted to attend. Our party was bigger than yours #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HIZk8xnJF1 — Jane Slusser (@janeslusser) June 5, 2018 Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer Sean Michael SpicerDeSantis to hold Newsmax town hall Biden's poor TV ratings against Trump is exactly what this administration wants Overnight Health Care: CDC director calls on Michigan to 'close things down' amid surge in cases | Regeneron says antibody therapy prevents COVID-19 infections MORE famously claimed that Trump’s inauguration had the “largest audience ever,” despite photos clearly showing smaller a crowd than was at former President Obama’s inauguration. ADVERTISEMENT A statement issued by the White House said that the Eagles were “unable” to attend the event with their full team and that fans “deserve better” than the smaller delegation the team wanted to send. The White House cited players’ disagreement with Trump on NFL players’ right to kneel in protest during the national anthem. It was reported that fewer than 10 players planned to attend the event on Tuesday. Kenney harshly criticized Trump’s move, calling him a “fragile egomaniac” in a statement. “Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend,” he said. Two Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers invited the team to visit the Capitol instead of the White House following Trump's snub. The White House is instead holding an event for Eagles fans, now dubbed “Celebration of America.” The statement said they plan to “loudly and proudly” play the national anthem at the event.<doc-sep>Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney's chief of staff ridiculed Donald Trump on Twitter Monday evening with side-by-side comparison photos of the Eagles' Super Bowl victory crowd size next to that of the president's inauguration. Trump canceled the Philadelphia Eagles' White House visit abruptly yesterday after most of the team's players and coaches planned on boycotting the event over the president's demands that they stand for the national anthem at NFL games. "Our party was bigger than yours," Jane Slusser wrote in a tweet following the announcement, next to images that showed a substantially larger turnout for the Eagles than Trump's inauguration. Our party was bigger than yours #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HIZk8xnJF1 — Jane Slusser (@janeslusser) June 5, 2018 In 2017, Sean Spicer, the White House's former press secretary, infamously said that Trump's inauguration attracted the "largest audience ever," although photos of the event proved that the crowd was much smaller than that of former President Barack Obama's. In a statement on Monday, Trump disinvited the entire Super Bowl champion team from a visit to the White House scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. "The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow," the statement read. "They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better." Trump went on to say that the 1,000 fans who were set to attend are still invited to come to a "different type of ceremony—one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the national anthem." "I will be there at 3 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America," the president said. Although the Eagles did not respond directly to the announcement, the team later issued a statement to their fans saying they were "truly grateful for all the support we have received and we are looking forward to continuing our preparations for the 2018 season." According to the New York Times, White House officials confirmed that less than 10 members of the team accepted the invitation to attend the usually non-political ceremony, which would have been held on the South Lawn. Kenney criticized the president for his decision after the announcement, in a statement calling him a "fragile egomaniac." "The Eagles call the birthplace of our democracy home, so it's no surprise that this team embodies everything that makes our country and our city great," he said. "These are players who stand up for the causes they believe in and who contribute in meaningful ways to their community. They represent the diversity of our nation—a nation in which we are free to express our opinions." Kenney added: "Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend. City Hall is always open for a celebration." Following the official announcement, Trump also took to Twitter on Monday evening to explain the decision. "The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!" the president tweeted.<doc-sep>
Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney took aim at the president after the Super Bowl Champion Eagles were disinvited from the White House on Monday night. “Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend,” said Kenney in a statement. "Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot." Philly Mayor Jim Kenney releases statement on White House canceling Eagles visit.https://t.co/M5No2rMKFX pic.twitter.com/weWyiTvjHB — CBS Philly (@CBSPhilly) June 5, 2018 Trump Cancels Philadelphia Eagles’ White House Visit Over Anthem Dispute “Our party was bigger than yours,” added Jane Slusser, chief of staff to Mayor Kenney. Our party was bigger than yours #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HIZk8xnJF1 — Jane Slusser (@janeslusser) June 5, 2018 The Eagles were set to visit the White House on Tuesday to celebrate their Super Bowl win. But that trip was called off by the president. “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony—one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem. I will be there at 3:00 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America,” Trump’s full statement read. READ MORE on the cancellation.