President Trump said today that he plans to attend Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park on Sunday if the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros are still playing, though he will not throw the ceremonial first pitch.
“They’ve got to dress me up in a lot of heavy armor — I’ll look too heavy,” he responded when a reporter asked him about whether he would take the mound.
Trump appeared to be making a reference to a bulletproof vest that presidents sometimes are required to wear by Secret Service when they are amid large crowds.
A team official confirmed later that he will not take part in that on-field tradition.
That didn’t stop Barack Obama, who despite death threats throughout his presidency, still represented the Nationals – Washington’s home town team.
44. Barack Obama
And it didn’t stop George W. Bush, who was the president on, and following, 9/11:
43. George W. Bush
It’s long been a tradition to throw out first pitches at baseball games, particularly on Opening Day and during the World Series.
William Howard Taft was the first to do it, in 1910, when he hurled one over the plate at a Washington Senators game.
27. William Howard Taft.
28. Woodrow Wilson:
29. Warren G. Harding:
30. Calvin Coolidge:
31. Herbert Hoover:
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt:
33. Harry S. Truman:
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower:
35. John F. Kennedy:
36. Lyndon B. Johnson:
37. Richard Nixon:
38. Gerald Ford:
39. Jimmy Carter:
40. Ronald Reagan:
41. George H. W. Bush:
42. Bill Clinton:
But Donald Trump has refused all invitations throughout his presidency.
So what could be the real reason he’s abstaining from this grand presidential tradition?
He’s even thrown out a first pitch before, in 2006 at Fenway Park in Boston.
Isn’t this exactly the type of pomp and circumstance he craves?
One reason might be that Trump’s athleticism has waned considerably in the last 11 years.
He’s never looked particularly coordinated on the golf course, and trying his hand at another sport might not be worth the risk of embarrassment.
The most likely reason, however, is pretty obvious.
As Dave Weigel of the Washington Post points out: “The boos would echo for miles.”
The Nationals lead the Astros 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday night and Game 4 on Saturday, both in Washington.
The Nationals would have to lose at least one of those games for there to be a Game 5 on Sunday.