The 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox visited President Trump at the White House on Thursday afternoon. The visit was notable as Manager Alex Cora, along with many of the Black and Hispanic players declined the invitation.
Following the visit, the Red Sox went on to have a great weekend, winning all 3 of their games against the Seattle Mariners. Today, Trump took some credit for the weekend sweep claiming it had something to do with the White House trip.
The President tweeted, “Has anyone noticed that all the Boston Red Sox have done is WIN since coming to the White House! Others also have done very well. The White House visit is becoming the opposite of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated! By the way, the Boston players were GREAT guys!
Has anyone noticed that all the Boston @RedSox have done is WIN since coming to the White House! Others also have done very well. The White House visit is becoming the opposite of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated! By the way, the Boston players were GREAT guys!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
Of course, the President fails to mention that the recent champs are an excellent team that tends to win many games. While their current record stands at 20-19, the Red Sox have won 8 of their last 10 games and seem to have righted the ship after a rough start. In 2018, Boston won 108 games, good for a 66.7% winning percentage.
The White House visit, long a tradition for championship teams, has become controversial under Trump. The NBA champion Golden State Warriors chose to visit with Barack Obama rather than the current president. While the NCAA football champion Clemson Tigers did take their visit, many African American players chose not to attend.
In late April, the NCAA basketball champion Virginia Cavaliers became the latest team to announce that they are declining a trip to the White House.