WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House on Thursday, praising the franchise as “one of the great brands anywhere in the world” during a Rose Garden ceremony honoring the team’s second championship in two years.
Trump called the Dodgers’ Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays last fall “a hell of a series.” He said he was surprised to learn the club had never previously captured back-to-back titles, then looked ahead to the possibility of a third straight championship.
“I’m thrilled to say welcome back to the White House,” Trump said. “And maybe I’ll see you again next year.”
The president had previously honored the Dodgers in the East Room in April 2025 after their 2024 World Series win over the New York Yankees. Before Thursday’s event, Trump said he was especially eager to meet Ohtani, drawing an extended comparison between the two-way star and Babe Ruth and suggesting Ohtani could be considered baseball’s best hitter and pitcher.
“It’s truly a great — when you talk about a brand — it’s one of the great brands anywhere in the world,” Trump said of the Dodgers. He spoke beside a table displaying two World Series trophies and a Trump 47 jersey presented to him by the team.
The Dodgers also handed Trump what appeared to be a replica World Series ring. “Wow. Do I have to report this? I don’t want to report this,” Trump said, before placing the ring inside the pocket of his suit jacket.
Trump says Iran war has kept him from following baseball closely
Guests in the crowd wore blue Dodgers caps to shield themselves from the bright sun, while the band performed a jazzy instrumental rendition of Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” before Trump stepped to the microphone.
Trump also recalled the previous year’s marathon Game 3, when the Dodgers defeated the Blue Jays 6-5 in 18 innings. He said he stayed up until about 3 a.m. watching the game, describing it as “a long one” but “amazing.”
“I thought it was a game that you were going to lose about four or five times, and you ended up winning,” he said, adding, “Luck is OK, too, right?” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts agreed: “Luck is OK.”
“But with talent you get a lot of luck,” Trump continued.
The president said he spoke briefly with Roberts before the event and learned that his team currently has the best record in baseball, noting, “I’ve been a little busy with Iran and some other things.”
That was his only reference during the event to fighting in the Middle East, which has escalated on both sides in recent days.
Roberts also spoke briefly, saying, “We’re going for a three-peat.”
Championship baseball teams have been coming to the White House since 1869, when President Ulysses S. Grant hosted the Cincinnati Red Stockings. They were the first fully professional team to visit the White House and went undefeated that season, though the World Series wasn’t established in its modern form until 1903.
Sports teams’ visits to the Trump White House have sometimes been a source of controversy. In 2018, the president rescinded an invitation to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles after many players suggested they might skip such a trip.
Dodgers star right fielder Mookie Betts wasn’t at Thursday’s Rose Garden event, though he did make the 2025 visit. He said he prefers to spend the team’s scheduled days off with his family.
The Dodgers originally considered coming to the White House this past April during a series with the Washington Nationals, but a crowded early season schedule didn’t permit that. Instead, they’re in the nation’s capital during the off-day between a just-completed series against the Philadelphia Phillies and Friday’s opener against the New York Mets in Queens.
The White House has changed since the Dodgers’ last visit
Over the past year, Trump has revamped the Rose Garden and added a patio area reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. At Thursday’s event for the Dodgers, he referenced the “ Walk of Fame ” installed on the colonnade, which features plaques of past presidents along with partisan insults against Joe Biden and other Democrats.
“I could put some of the great Dodgers on the wall,” Trump joked, “but I figured maybe it’s more appropriate that we put the presidents.”
Trump, a baseball fan and New York native, has for years been closely associated with the Yankees, whose late, longtime owner George Steinbrenner was a close friend. Trump referenced Steinbrenner on Thursday, saying, “He would do anything to win” before telling the Dodgers’ team owners, “But you’re doing the same thing.”
The president isn’t always so complimentary of teams, though. During a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, he praised the ownership of the local Atlanta Braves and slammed the Mets for their sky-high payroll and losing record.
Trump was joined on stage during that event by former Braves manager Brian Snitker, and Mike Plant, president and CEO of the Braves Development Company.
”You know, the Mets have the highest salary in baseball, and they lose all the time,” Trump said then. And I’m like, maybe we can steal this guy.”
“There are teams like that, where they never go down,” Trump said. “Then you have other teams — ‘We’re rebuilding.’ They’ve been rebuilding for years. I don’t want to mention teams ’cause I know all the owners. They’re all friends of mine.”
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