CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 05: Former President Barack Obama addresses the Obama Foundation’s 2024 Democracy Forum on December 05, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The 2024 Democracy Forum focused on “pluralism” and exploring how diverse communities can work together. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The Los Angeles Dodgers earned their ninth World Series title with a dramatic, extra-innings win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
As expected, the team has seen a flood of congratulatory messages from celebrities and dignitaries alike. And that included a message from former U.S. president Barack Obama.
“What a great series!” Obama wrote in a response to the team’s announcement of its win on Facebook.
Obama also sent his congratulations to the “back-to-back champs” in a relatively benign message, but users on the social media platform took the opportunity to reply with decidedly political takes.
And Obama’s message offered an interest contrast to that of his successor, Donald Trump, whose own message sent the day before Obama’s included a clear declaration that the team would be joining him at the White House.
“A lesser group of men would never have been able to win that game, or game 6, for that matter,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “SEE YOU ALL AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!”
Trump’s message raised an interesting choice for the Dodgers, who have been pressured by fans to protest his administration’s impact on Los Angeles by refusing the invitation. The team is likely to accept the invitation anyway, as it did last year, but the contrast between Trump’s declarative response to the championship and Obama’s merely congratulatory one was an interesting reminder of their differences while in office.
While in office, Obama hosted White House visits from 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 were held with relatively little controversy.
Trump’s invitations to championship teams in baseball and other sports, like many of his official acts, have been more polarizing.
When he hosted 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 never visited the White House.
“My attitude (is), if they want to be here, the greatest place on Earth, I’ll be here,” Trump said after he canceled a visit by the Philadelphia Eagles and was snubbed by NBA stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James, per 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 generate some controversy no matter how they respond. But that probably wouldn’t have been the case during the Obama administration.