The Los Angeles Dodgers will celebrate their 2024 World Series championship with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, kicking off a string of sports celebrations in Washington this month.
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team will follow the Dodgers on April 14 after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the national championship. The Philadelphia Eagles go to the White House on April 28.
The planned visits appear to signal a calming of tensions between athletes and the president. Trump famously rescinded the Eagles’ White House invitation in 2018 after a contentious back-and-forth between him and NFL players over kneeling for the national anthem as an acceptable form of protest against racial injustice. As rumors swirled around whether the Eagles would go this year, the team confirmed in February they would accept an invitation.
The relationship between athletes and Trump has warmed, which became apparent during the presidential campaign last year. Players from MLB and the NFL along with UFC fighters emulated Trump’s dance moves on the field. 49ers star Nick Bosa even flashed a “Make America Great Again” hat after a game. The president has also been routinely seen at college football games, welcoming golfers into the White House and playing rounds with NFL players and golfers.
He was on the Boston Red Sox’s 2018 World Series championship team that beat the Dodgers. He decided to boycott the visit then, but last week he lamented not going.
Dodgers star Mookie Betts notably changed his tune on whether he would visit the White House.
