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Donald Trump has announced that he will not be launching the ceremonial first pitch for the New York Yankees next month after all, blaming his busy schedule, despite having spent another weekend on one of his own golf courses.
On Sunday afternoon, just a few days after announcing that he would take the lead, he tweeted, “Due to my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much more, I will not be able to in New York. to launch the @Yankees’ opening pitch on August 15. We’ll make it later in the season! “
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Trump had said Thursday that he would launch the first pitch for one of the MLB giants, an announcement that came hours before Anthony Fauci released the first pitch for his own team, the Washington Nationals.
Donald Trump catches a baseball thrown by former New York Yankees Hall of Famer pitcher Mariano Rivera in the South Lawn of the White House on July 23, 2020 (Getty Images)
The president has publicly clashed with his infectious disease expert, and some close to the White House have been actively reporting against the scientist, leading to speculation that Trump’s sudden enthusiasm for baseball could be related to a desire not to be overshadowed.
His reasoning for now taking a rain check, his busy schedule, raised questions on social media, where people were quick to point out that he had just spent another weekend at one of his own golf clubs.
Despite repeatedly mocking his predecessor, Barack Obama, for playing golf and vowing that he wouldn’t have time to do it himself if elected, Trump has been a repeat customer of ties since taking office.
According to thegolfnewsnet.com, the president has been on his own golf courses or played elsewhere no less than 280 times since January 20, 2017. The TrumpGolfCount website estimates the total at 266. Obama is believed to have played 333 times, although during the eight years he was in office.
Although Trump has said he will launch a launch in the future, it will have occurred to him that it may be more difficult than it seems. Dr. Fauci’s pitch was not only somewhat off target, but widely shared images of the president trying to catch a ball thrown at him by former Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera on the White House lawn Thursday showed him with a unflattering light.
Another factor could be the fact that since the season restarted amid the coronavirus pandemic, teams have routinely knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign for racial justice, something Trump has spent years criticizing.
Last week he tweeted: “I look forward to playing live sports, but every time I see a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game is over for me!”
Trump is believed to be the first president since Theodore Roosevelt, who left the White House in 1909, has not thrown a ceremonial first ball at a baseball game.
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