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The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their ninth World Series title with a dramatic extra-time victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
As expected, the team has seen an outpouring of congratulatory messages from celebrities and dignitaries alike. And that included a message from former American President Barack Obama.
“What a great series!” Obama wrote in a response to the team’s announcement of his victory on Facebook.
Obama also sent his congratulations to the “back-to-back champions” in a relatively benign message, but users on the social media platform took the opportunity to respond with strong political views.
And Obama’s message provided an interesting contrast to that of his successor, Donald Trump, whose own message was sent the day before Obama’s and included a clear statement that the team would join him at the White House.
“A smaller group of men could never have won that game, or Game 6 for that matter,” Trump said posted on Truth Social. “SEE ALL IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!”
Trump’s message presented an interesting choice for the Dodgers have been pressured by fans to protest his administration’s impact on Los Angeles by declining the invitation. The team will likely accept the invite anyway, as they did last year, but the contrast between Trump’s explanatory response to the championship and Obama’s merely congratulatory response was an interesting reminder of their differences during their time in office.
During his time in office, Obama hosted visits to the White House by the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, who attended three different times. Those visits passed with relatively little controversy.
Trump’s invitations to championship teams in baseball and other sports, like many of his official actions, have been more polarizing.
While hosting the Dodgers earlier this year, relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol, who is originally from Venezuela, chose to protest the visit. During Trump’s first term half of the championship teams in major sports leagues has never visited the White House.
“My attitude (is): If they want to be here, the best place on earth, then I’ll be here,” Trump said after canceling a visit by the Philadelphia Eagles and being rebuffed by NBA stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James. according to CNBC. “If they don’t want to be here, I don’t want them.”
After Trump’s latest invitation to the Dodgers, the team seems likely to cause some controversy no matter how they respond. But that probably wouldn’t have been the case during the Obama administration.
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