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After the Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019 for the first time, former US President Donald Trump invited the team to the White House.
During the ceremonial White House visit that year, Trump was elated for the Nats, who became the first team in Washington to win the World Series in 100 years. He also remarked that the entire nation fell in love with Nats baseball.
"America fell in love with Nats baseball," Trump said at the South Lawn of White House. "They just fell in love with Nats baseball. That's all they wanted to talk about. I like Nats baseball much more."
An awkward moment took place when Kurt Suzuki was called up to the podium to say a few words. Suzuki wore a red hat and on top, it said, "Make America Great Again."
"I didn't know that was going to happen," Trump, who was surprised, said.
Many Washington Nationals players skipped the White House visit invitation
While Donald Trump was in office, many winning teams across American leagues declined to make White House visits, including the Golden State Warriors, Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles and the US women's World Cup-winning team.
Even some players from the Nationals World Series chose to skip the visit, including third baseman Anthony Rendon, reliever Sean Doolittle and a few others. Rendon's absence wasn't due to any known reason, but Doolittle explained his absence.
"There's a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country," Doolittle said to The Washington Post.
"At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can't do it," Doolittle said. "I just can't do it."
In 2023, the Nationals finished last in the divisional standings with a 71-91 record and will hope to do better in 2024.
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