Day 1,284: Trump, after weekend at golf club, chickens out of throwing first pitch at baseball game due to ‘strong focus’ on COVID-19

The New York Yankees invited Donald Trump to throw out the first pitch of their baseball game on Saturday, August 15. What was a yes, is suddenly a no.

Initially, Trump accepted the offer just before Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game, and immediately drew scorn from local officials.

Trump’s plan, however, was met with immediate backlash from New York City officials.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz said in a forceful statement Friday that, “We all deserve better than a careless major league baseball organization that consistently ignores the surrounding community while pandering to an unapologetic white supremacist like Donald Trump.”

That message was echoed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who tweeted Saturday, “After CONDEMNING racism, the next step isn’t inviting it to your pitcher’s mound.”

Now Trump — after a weekend of golf at his private club, following many, many such similar weekends — is ridiculously blaming a “strong focus” on COVID-19.

Trump has famously eschewed all things work and all things COVID-19-related, even as over 4 million Americans have become infected with the disease and nearly 150,000 have died. His schedule, even from Monday to Friday, is ridiculously empty, and on the weekends he can be most often found rubbing elbows with his club members at the buffet line after a round of golf, including each of the past seven weekends.

His decision to not throw a first pitch has little to do with the coronavirus or the economy. In three weeks, Trump and his team will likely dodge any explanation as to why his schedule has no such meetings for the things he is now proclaiming to be busy with.

1,284 days in, 178 to go

Follow us on Twitter at @TrumpTimer