The Los Angeles Dodgers will indeed visit President Donald Trump at the White House.
The reigning World Series champions announced Tuesday that they will accept the president’s invitation for an event on April 7, when the team will be in D.C. to play the Washington Nationals. The team will visit the Capitol the next day.
In keeping with long-standing baseball tradition, President Trump has invited the 2024 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House when they play in Washington D.C. on April 7. The Dodgers look forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.
In…
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 25, 2025
The Dodgers set themselves up for a White House visit with their World Series run last year, capped off with a five-game win in the Fall Classic over the New York Yankees, Trump’s preferred MLB team. There had, however, been some question about whether the Dodgers would make the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, especially given the timing.
Before Tuesday, there had been no indication of the team’s plans, despite April 7 being only two weeks away. By comparison, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that did not visit Trump during his first presidency amid contentious circumstances, won their second Super Bowl on Feb. 9 and confirmed they were visiting the White House on March 11.
In that time, Trump has feuded with local politicians and threatened to withhold federal aid for the wildfires that ravaged part of Los Angeles in January. His administration has also drawn heavy criticism over the deletion of an article about Jackie Robinson’s Army history, which was later restored, as part of its campaign against DEI policies.
While the Dodgers say they will visit the White House, it’s possible that not every player will make the trip. Dodgers star Mookie Betts skipped a visit to Trump’s White House after winning the World Series with the Boston Red Sox, and manager Dave Roberts said he wouldn’t go when asked hypothetically in 2019. Trump has also been critical of Roberts’ decision-making in the past.
The Dodgers announced they would make the trip minutes before Roberts spoke with reporters Tuesday ahead of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels. Roberts confirmed that he will indeed make the trip, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times:
“I respect the position. It’s the highest office in our country certainly, in the world. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Roberts also addressed the matter of the Robinson article, saying that he’s happy it was restored and hinting at stronger opinions about the matter, via Sarah Wexler of MLB.com:
“I’m happy that the page went back up. And I can’t go too much into this. I have my strong opinions on DEl and all that stuff, but that’s another scrum.”
Per Open Secrets, both Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter and team president Stan Kasten have made donations to Democratic causes in the past, while Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, both members of the Dodgers’ ownership group, have publicly voiced opposition to Trump.
The Dodgers won the 2020 World Series on Oct. 27, 2020, one week before Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the presidential election, and the team visited Biden in the White House the following July. They also accepted a call from Biden and vice president Kamala Harris shortly after their World Series victory last fall.