WASHINGTON — With portraits of George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt adorning the partitions, and grand golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the Dodgers acquired a champion’s welcome within the East Room of the White Home on Monday morning, applauded by a packed crowd awaiting their arrival for his or her 2024 World Collection celebration.
Then, as soon as they have been all in place on a stage on the entrance of the room, President Trump entered to personally congratulate them on final season’s title.
“Legendary season,” Trump stated, with Dodgers gamers, coaches, executives and proprietor Mark Walter standing round him.
“Over the course of this amazing season, the members of this team gave us some of the most incredible performances ever seen on the baseball diamond.”
President Donald Trump, proper, shakes arms with the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw throughout a ceremony to honor the crew on the White Home on Monday.
(Mark Schiefelbein / Related Press)
When the Dodgers introduced final month they might go to Trump’s White Home this week, whereas on the town for a highway collection in opposition to the Washington Nationals, it triggered an avalanche of reactions from followers and others across the baseball world.
Three months into his second time period in workplace, Trump stays a polarizing determine — particularly in Los Angeles, the place Kamala Harris acquired greater than twice as many votes as he did amongst L.A. county voters within the 2024 election.
However, the Dodgers cited the journey as nothing greater than upholding custom, regardless of stress from some factions of their fan base to say no the invitation.
“We’re very pleased,” Walter stated Monday, “to participate in the tradition of bringing champions to the White House.”
Each returning member of the 2024 crew on this week’s highway journey participated within the go to; together with supervisor Dave Roberts (who stated in 2019 he wouldn’t go to the White Home if the Dodgers received a World Collection throughout Trump’s first time period) and shortstop Mookie Betts (who declined to go to the White Home with the Boston Pink Sox whereas Trump was first in workplace in 2019).
The one notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles this week to nurse an ankle harm that landed him on the injured record.
After Trump made his entrance and delivered normal opening remarks, he then spent 10 minutes lauding the Dodgers’ 2024 accomplishments
The reward began with Roberts, who was as soon as the goal of social media criticisms from Trump throughout the 2018 World Collection, however was instructed by the President on Monday that he’s “one of the greatest managers, really, ever to wear the Dodger blue.”
Then, Trump listed off a number of of Shohei Ohtani’s accomplishments from his unprecedented 50-homer, 50-steal efficiency final season, earlier than joking that the reigning Nationwide League MVP “looks like a movie star.”
Trump additionally highlighted the contributions of Betts, Max Muncy, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kiké Hernández, Teoscar Hernández and Clayton Kershaw — who additionally took the mic to present remarks, and introduced Trump with a customized Dodgers jersey bearing his identify.
“This is an incredible honor for me to stand here today representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and this group of staff and players standing behind me today,” stated Kershaw, who was one in every of a number of different gamers on the injured record who flew to Washington to hitch the crew for the occasion. “The 2024 Los angeles Dodgers season is one that will go down in the history books, always holding a special place in my heart and those with me, as well as the millions of Dodger fans around the world.”
Earlier than taking the crew again for a tour of the Oval Workplace, Trump additionally supplied a prediction in regards to the Dodgers’ probabilities of repeating as champions in 2025.
“After seeing how successful you’ve begun this season, I can tell you that you can plan on being back here,” Trump stated. “I hope you’re going to be back here next year.”
