Donald Trump Hosts Los Angeles Dodgers at White House Amidst Player Absences

Donald Trump hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House on Thursday for the team’s second trip to the White House in two years.

The team gave the president a custom jersey and a World Series championship ring during a ceremony at the Rose Garden. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, star first baseman Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and manager Dave Roberts were among those in attendance, while several players – most notably star shortstop Mookie Betts and utility man Kike Hernández – opted not to attend.

“Special winners, unbelievable,” Trump said. “I would not be surprised to see them back here again.”

In remarks that also included lengthy tangents on former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and the renovation of the Rose Garden, Trump complimented several Dodgers players while also confusing the roles of some others. He made a lengthy comparison between Ohtani and legendary slugger Babe Ruth, and praised Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers ace who pitched an inning of last year’s epic World Series Game 3 win over the Blue Jays in 18 innings.

“I watched him beat a lot of teams. They didn’t do too well against him. He is still pitching well, I bet,” Trump said of Kershaw, who retired after last year’s World Series.

Trump said he spoke with Roberts before the event and expressed surprise at the Dodgers’ status this season as the best team in baseball, but noted he’s “been a little busy with Iran and some other things”.

The team gave Trump what appeared to be a replica of their championship ring.

“Wow. Do I have to report this?” he said as he put the ring in his jacket. “I don’t want to report this.”

The Dodgers’ trip to the White House left many of their fans with conflicted feelings, given recent ICE raids and protest crackdowns in the city of Los Angeles as ordered by the Trump administration.

Betts, who did not participate in the Boston Red Sox’s trip during Trump’s first term but was there during the Dodgers’ visit last year, told reporters he preferred to spend the day with his family. Hernández, an outspoken critic of the ICE raids in Los Angeles, said he had a conflicting injury rehab assignment but wouldn’t have participated if he was available to join. Pitcher Edgardo Henriquez also reportedly did not attend.

“My personal line, my company line, is I hope we get this invitation every year because that’s the goal, to win a championship,” Roberts said earlier this year after the team accepted the invitation. “I’m not a politician, and I’m doing something that teams have done for decades. And so that’s where I stand, really. I’m a baseball coach. That’s what I do.”

Teams who have won a major championship have traditionally been invited to the White House to celebrate their victory with the president. During Trump’s first term, several teams were not invited or made clear they would not attend, including champions from the NBA and the WNBA.