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NEW YORK – Thursday night in New York marked the first time since 2019 that a sitting president had attended a Major League Baseball game.
It is hardly the first sporting event President Donald Trump has been to since his second term began, but this one had a little extra juice to it.
Trump attended the New York Yankees’ 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Roughly a few miles from Ground Zero, Trump received a mostly positive ovation from the more than 40,000 people at Yankee Stadium. Yet the crowd was able to get over differences for multiple “USA” chants throughout the night.
“It was an awesome night. Meaningful,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the game. “Captain [Aaron Judge] just spoke about it, just having us out there kind of all lined up together, first for the moment of silence, then back out there for the anthem, and just that buzz that New York City can create, you definitely felt it tonight. Obviously, the president being here, just an added layer. September baseball against a really good club. A special night to be a part of, and hopefully none of us took it for granted.”
Trump met with the Yankees in the clubhouse and called Judge a “fantastic player.” The reigning AL MVP (and favorite to win again this year) responded by belting a home run in each of his first two at-bats and tying Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time home runs list.
AARON JUDGE HITS 2 HOME RUNS AFTER MEETING TRUMP, WHO CALLED HIM A ‘FANTASTIC PLAYER’
“It was meaningful to see your superstar go out there and do that. And I know what it meant to Aaron. You guys know how impactful and how important that ‘NY’ is that he wears in the pinstripes. What it is to represent this city now as one of the faces of the city as a sports figure now, it means a lot to him, and it’s not lost on him. So for him to go out and have that game on a night like tonight is a little extra special,” Boone said.
The clock almost struck midnight on Trump’s visit to the Yankees — he entered the clubhouse at around 6:40 p.m. ET, and according to Boone, he was supposed to arrive at 5:45 p.m. ET.
But the skipper sounded like the wait was worth it.
“It was great. I was there with Carlos [Rodon] and Gerrit [Cole] when he walked into the doors of our clubhouse. It’s a little intimidating, you’re a little nervous, but he was great,” Boone said. “He’s great in that setting, real personable, took some pictures, shook hands. And then we walked him into the main area where the players were, and they got to greet him.
“It was a really, really cool interaction, I think, for a lot of people. Glad he was able to be here, and I think it meant a lot to a lot of people. So definitely a cool experience.”
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