Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is one of the veteran players on the roster who have endured many postseason disappointments over the years. So he enjoyed his time at the White House as the team celebrated their World Series win over the Houston Astros. However, there was an awkward moment between him and President Donald Trump when Trump reached to shake Strasburg’s hand and he left him hanging.
In Strasburg’s defense, he probably didn’t see Trump reach out for a handshake because he may have been focused on getting back to his team. However, the fans who saw the video loved it. One fan said, “I could watch this again and again,” while another fan said, “He just became Melania (Trump’s) favorite player.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
More fans continued to comment with this fan replying, “The only handshake Trump can count on these days is with Putin.” Another fan said, “Better than me…I’d have feigned a reach then slid my hand behind my head.”
Strasburg left Trump hanging. 😂 pic.twitter.com/LFNQTpCs89
— Rudy Gersten (@DCBarno) November 4, 2019
While Strasburg didn’t show love for Trump, another Nationals player got a ton of love from the president. Catcher Kurt Suzuki was seen wearing a Trump MAGA hat and Trump loved it. In fact, he loved it so much he gave Suzuki a hug along with a handshake.
The majority of Nationals players were there, but there were a few who declined the invite. Pitcher Sean Doolittle was the first Nationals player to publicly announce he wasn’t going to the White House and he recently explained why.
“There’s a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country,” Doolittle said, per The Washington Post. “At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.”
He continued to say for him to go visit Trump would send mixed messages to his family.
“I want to show support for them. I think that’s an important part of allyship, and I don’t want to turn my back on them,” Doolittle continued. “I have a brother-in-law who has autism, and [Trump] is a guy that mocked a disabled reporter. How would I explain that to him that I hung out with somebody who mocked the way that he talked or the way that he moves his hands? I can’t get past that stuff.”
