Trump criticizes MLB during Inter Miami White House celebration

The celebration revolved around a football team, but President Donald Trump was talking baseball at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

More specifically, his dissatisfaction with the current MLB product.

Trump decided to mix a little baseball into the conversation while hosting 2025 MLS Cup champions Inter Miami CF, which features world soccer legend Lionel Messi.

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“I love sports, and I watched my friend A-Rod with George Steinbrenner; it was just the two of us sitting in his box,” Trump said, looking at Alex Rodriguez, who was sitting to the left of the crowd. Rodriguez appeared to be at the White House for a different event, as Trump stated that he told him to come to the MLS celebration.

“He would never want anyone else but me,” Trump said of legendary New York Yankees owner Steinbrenner. “He liked me, didn’t he? He liked me, he liked you. He liked almost no one else.”

Then Trump tried MLB, a product he’s not fond of today.

“When baseball was hot, this would have been a World Series; now it’s not so hot, I’ll be honest with you. They’re doing the wrong things,” Trump said, but did not elaborate. “But I’d sit while the baseball was hot as a gun [with Steinbrenner] and I would watch the Yankees. “They would have 30 seats and it would just be me and him.”

Trump’s lack of explanation may lead to speculation about why he doesn’t like the sport today, but there is some debate about the game and how MLB runs its products.

Donald Trump, at the behest of 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, on August 19, 1988. (Victor Junco/St. Petersburg Times)

These include large markets and small markets as payrolls continue to grow rapidly without a salary cap. A prime example is the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose spending spree continues 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 have the league’s highest payroll ($396 million), the New York Mets ($368.66 million), Yankees ($325.82 million) and Philadelphia Phillies ($311.18 million) are not far behind. But when they face teams like the Miami Marlins ($78.11 million), Cleveland Guardians ($94.75 million) and Washington Nationals ($102.41 million), the talent gap can sometimes lead to lopsided games.

But MLB has a critical year ahead because everything could change if the salary cap is implemented in collective bargaining agreement negotiations. But it doesn’t appear the MLB Players Association wants a cap, which could lead to some tense negotiations and a potential lockout with the current CBA set to expire 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 comes after Trump said he would pardon MLB’s all-time hitting leader Pete Rose and criticized the league for not inducting him into the Hall of Fame because of gambling.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Inter Miami CF in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA. Inter Miami CF visits the White House to celebrate their 2025 title win. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)

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Rose was posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list in May 2025, allowing him to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

Before MLB starts its 2026 season, the World Baseball Classic will be held as games have already begun. Team USA, which has one of its best rosters ever, will begin its tournament against Team Brazil on Friday in Houston.

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