Donald Trump still plans to pitch the first pitch in a Yankees game next month despite New York baseball players kneeling at Thursday’s opening game in Washington DC.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told DailyMail.com during a press conference on Friday that the president is “excited” to participate in the tradition and that he has not changed his plans to do so.
“I’ll leave it to him to tackle the Yankees game, he’s very excited to pitch the first pitch,” said McEnany.
Trump announced Thursday night during a briefing at the White House that he will launch the first pitch in a Yankees game in New York on August 15, at the same time that baseball celebrated its Opening Day with a months delay. at the Nationals Stadium.
McEnany said he learned of his decision to participate at the same time as he made the disclosure to the press.
Both the Yankees and Nationals players knelt during the Opening Day ceremonies, but they performed the National Anthem.
Athletes kneeling at sporting events in recent years have become a symbol of protest and a sign that kneeling people stand in solidarity with the black community.
The president is vehemently against kneeling in protest while the American flag is presented or the Star Spangled Banner is played, and has said he would not support sports if players continued to kneel.
“I am eager to experience 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 ends for me!” Trump tweeted on July 21, as Major League Baseball prepared to start his season about four months late.
But McEnany says this has not deterred him from wanting to launch the first release.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told DailyMail.com during a briefing on Friday that Donald Trump is “very excited to launch the first pitch” at a Yankees game next month.
His comments came after all the Yankees and Nationals teams knelt in unison before the first game of the season. Later they rose for the national anthem.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that kneeling during the national anthem is a “sign of great disrespect” and that the game is “over” for him when players do.
The president marked baseball’s Opening Day Thursday by playing with sports legend Mariano Rivera on the White House grounds and then, at the press conference, revealed a plan to launch the first pitch in the August 15 game. In New York.
Trump has widely mocked his facial expression and form when he released the first pitch at the Red Sox Games in 2006; after the image reappeared in 2017, he canceled plans to launch the first release a few months after becoming president
While Trump was conducting his briefing at the White House on Thursday night, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was not invited to participate in the restarts of the coronavirus, launched the first launch in the city.
The Yankees and Nationals players knelt in unison before the first game of the season.
The athletes knelt during the opening ceremony Thursday night, which featured several references to the ongoing civil rights movement that was sparked by the “murder” of George Floyd on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
Also during the ceremony, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s chief immunologist and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, launched the first launch, overshadowing the president’s intentions to do the same next month.
Fauci has not been invited to participate in the daily briefings again since they restarted on Monday after reports of his clashes with the president emerged, so he spent his night at the National Stadium.
The 79-year-old doctor is an avid baseball fan, and while he supported the Yankees during his youth in Brooklyn, he is now a longtime fan of the Nationals and often wears a face mask with his logo.
Trump also marked baseball’s inaugural day by playing with sports legend Mariano Rivera on the White House grounds.
The 2020 Major League Baseball season finally kicked off in Washington on Thursday night, after being suspended when states closed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Yankees and Nationals players wore Black Lives Matter jerseys during batting practice, and the letters ‘BLM’ were stamped on the back of the mound in the center of the diamond.
In a poignant reference to the racial trial occurring in the U.S., the players and other members of both teams held up a long black ribbon as they were separated along the two foul lines.
After placing the tape on the ground, all the players knelt down.
Trump has not publicly commented on the players who knelt, though the players rose for a recorded performance of the national anthem.
Players from both clubs knelt during the opening day ceremony on Thursday night and held on to a long black ribbon while remaining spaced along the two free-kick lines.
The New York Yankees and Washington Nationals wanted to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement before playing the delayed opening day game.
At the White House, the president also marked the opening day by throwing baseballs with Hall of Famer pitcher Rivera.
The retired New York Yankees relief pitcher made a surprise appearance at Trump’s coronavirus briefing in the late afternoon, when the president introduced him and said the two would go outside to see “ some beautiful little leagues. young people outside with a great future ahead. ”
“They are already practicing in the front yard of the White House,” Trump said.
Rivera and Trump then joined a group of about 15 young players who played at South Lawn.
The president and former player joined the sport, while Trump praised his playmate.
“There was no one like Mariano,” said Trump.
Rivera, a Trump supporter, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.
Trump said that the return of sports was “something tremendously psychological for our country” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He praised Major League Baseball for “getting back to normal” when games resumed.
“I think Major League Baseball is setting an example by playing in empty stadiums. And so are other sports,” Trump said, pointing to soccer and golf.
‘We want to return to normality. The key is to get back to normal.
Retired New York Yankees relief pitcher (right) made a surprise appearance Thursday
Rivera and Trump joined a group of about 15 young players playing at South Lawn
When asked by a journalist if he was concerned that the players would return too quickly after the Washington Nationals left fielder Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19, Trump said: “They will be able to take care of that.”
Trump also announced that he will pitch the first pitch when the New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 15.
“Randy Levine is a great friend of mine to the Yankees,” Trump said of the team president.
“He asked me to launch the first launch … It will be interesting.”
Spectators are unlikely to attend the game as the sport begins without crowds.
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