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The celebration was about a football team, but President Donald Trump talked about baseball at the White House Thursday afternoon.
More specifically, his dissatisfaction with the current MLB product.
Trump was hosting Inter Miami CF, the 2025 MLS Cup champions with world soccer legend Lionel Messi, when he decided to mix some baseball into the conversation.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Inter Miami CF in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, March 5, 2026. Inter Miami CF is visiting the White House to celebrate their 2025 championship victory. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)
“I love sports and I saw my friend A-Rod with George Steinbrenner — we were sitting in his box just the two of us,” Trump said, looking at Alex Rodriguez, who sat to his left in the crowd. Rodriguez appeared to be at the White House for another occasion when Trump mentioned asking him to come up to the MLS celebration.
“He never wanted anybody but me,” Trump continued of legendary New York Yankees owner Steinbrenner. “He liked me, didn’t he? He liked me, he liked you. He liked hardly anyone.”
Then Trump took a shot at MLB today, a product he is not fond of.
“It would be a World Series when baseball was hot — it’s not so hot now, I’ll be honest with you. They’re doing things wrong,” Trump said, but did not elaborate. “But when baseball was hot as a gun, I sat [with Steinbrenner] and I wanted to watch the Yankees. They wanted 30 seats and it would just be me and him.”
The lack of explanation from Trump can only lead to speculation as to why he doesn’t like the sport today, but there are some debates about the game and how MLB runs its product.
Donald Trump, hosted by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, speaks at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tampa’s annual Steak ‘N’ Burger benefit at the Downtown Hyatt in Tampa, Florida, August 19, 1988. (Victor Junco/St. Petersburg Times)
Among them is big markets versus small markets as salaries continue to skyrocket without a salary cap. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best example as their spending spree continued this offseason after defending their World Series title in a thrilling seven-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays last season.
But while the Dodgers own the league’s highest payroll ($396 million), the New York Mets ($368.66 million), Yankees ($325.82 million) and Philadelphia Phillies ($311.18 million) aren’t that far behind. But when they go up against teams like the Miami Marlins ($78.11M), Cleveland Guardians ($94.75M) and Washington Nationals ($102.41M), the talent disparity can sometimes lead to lopsided matchups.
However, MLB has a critical year ahead, as it could all change if a salary cap is implemented in the collective bargaining negotiations. But it doesn’t appear the MLB Players’ Association wants a cap at all, which could lead to some tense negotiations and a potential lockout with the current CBA expiring at the end of the year.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also visited the White House in April 2025, where he and Trump discussed baseball-related issues. Manfred’s arrival in the nation’s capital came after Trump said he would pardon the late Pete Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader, while criticizing the league for barring him from the Hall of Fame for gambling.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Inter Miami CF in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, March 5, 2026. Inter Miami CF is visiting the White House to celebrate their 2025 championship victory. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
Rose was posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list in May 2025, allowing him to be considered for the Hall of Fame.
Before the MLB starts its 2026 season, the World Baseball Classic will be held as the games have already begun. Team USA, fielding one of its best rosters ever, begins its tournament on Friday in Houston against Team Brazil.
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