Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts confirmed Friday that he would be attending his team’s upcoming visit to the White House, six years after skipping a World Series celebration with Donald Trump as president.
Then with the Red Sox, Betts (and manager Alex Cora) opted out of Boston’s 2019 trip to see Trump, but the now-three-time World Series champion went along for the Dodgers’ visit when Joe Biden was in office, celebrating the club’s 2020 championship.
“No matter what I say or what I do, people are gonna take it as political,” Betts said Friday. “But that’s definitely not what it is. This is about what the Dodgers were able to accomplish last year.”
Betts told reporters that his skipping the visit with the Red Sox was a ‘regret,’ and the 2018 American League MVP thought it distracted from that Red Sox team’s accomplishments.
“This is not about me; I don’t want anything to be about me,” Betts said Friday. “This is about the Dodgers. Because these boys were there for me.”
The Dodgers have started the 2025 season 8-0, with Betts slugging three home runs in five games since returning from illness.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
