President Trump praised the Los Angeles Dodgers and poked fun at California's two Democratic senators when he welcomed the 2024 World Series champions to the White House on Monday. The president shook the hands of players including Shohei Ohtani, the Guardian reports. "He looks like a movie star," Trump said. "He's got a good future, I'm telling you." The Hill reports that there was "awkward laughter" after he said of Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, "We have a couple senators here. I just don't particularly like them, so I won't introduce them."
Spokespeople for both senators, however, later told the Hill that neither man was present during Trump's remarks in the East Room. Mookie Betts, one of the players who skipped the Boston Red Sox's visit to the White House in 2019, was at the ceremony Monday. He said Friday that he regretted not going in 2019 because the decision took attention away from his teammates at the time, the Athletic reports. "This is not about me," he said. "This is about the Dodgers."
Betts said he discussed the decision with his wife, Brianna. "It comes with the territory," he said. "Being Black in America in a situation like this, it's a tough spot to be in. No matter what I choose, somebody's going to be pissed. Somebody's going to have an opinion." Dodgers officials polled team members before accepting the White House invite, the Athletic reports. (More Los Angeles Dodgers stories.)
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