President Trump hosts World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers

[0:42] much everybody it's an honor to be here and welcome to this is really the new [0:47] Rose Garden how beautiful it is with the white stone that matches the White [0:52] House this used to be grass and it was always wet you know the White House is [0:59] built on a wetland and when you're built on a wetland the grass is wet all the [1:03] time if it didn't rain for five days it was very wet and we had a lot of very [1:09] upset women they'd stand in there with the high heels and they just go down [1:14] like quicksand and that took place for about 150 years and I decided to do [1:20] something about it and this has become an incredible place for dining and for [1:25] news conferences and for events like this and this is a very special event [1:30] because it's the Dodgers and they're the world champions and and mark this is the [1:38] is the first time we've ever used the new Rose Garden you see the right up there [1:45] the Rose Garden and put that up looks very nice this is not you think Biden [1:49] would do that I don't think so I don't think Biden would do it and we created [1:55] the presidential walk of fame that wall for 150 years had absolutely nothing on [2:01] it and it always used to amaze me I said what are we going to put on that wall [2:05] now I could put some of the great Dodgers on the wall but I figured maybe it's [2:10] more appropriate that we put the presidents so it's it's been quite [2:14] something and we've have we did from Washington to Trump and people love it [2:19] and they read they study the plaques and generally speaking I was very nice to [2:24] the people up there a couple of them probably not as nice as I could have [2:28] been but I just want to say that we're delighted to host the 2025 World Series [2:33] champions the Los Angeles Dodgers amazing and for the first time in the proud [2:45] history of this famous franchise you are repeat champions I didn't know that [2:50] that's the first time well great ownership great management and so I'm [2:56] thrilled to say welcome back to the White House and maybe I'll see you again [3:00] next year I hope but it's a really it's truly a great when you talk about a brand [3:07] it's one of the great brands anywhere in the world no matter where you go the [3:10] Dodgers is one of the great brands and certainly it's been enhanced as long as [3:15] these two gentlemen were up here and were with us I want to thank Dodgers owner [3:19] and my friend chairman Mark Walter for being here thank you Mark along with [3:28] President Stan Kasten and manager Dave Roberts that's a hell of a manager manager [3:36] and I also here we have some of our their fans they have big celebrities for the [3:43] most part themselves but their fan Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and by [3:50] the way prices are going down very substantially thank you Brooke we got [3:55] them down we inherited the highest prices in history and we got them we're [3:58] getting them down very quickly thank you Brooke Secretary of Health and Human [4:02] Services he wasn't supposed to be here but he's a big Dodger fan Robert F Kennedy [4:07] jr thank you Bobby and his incredible wife thank you are you a giant are you a big fan of [4:12] the digest I didn't know that Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullin Mark [4:19] Wayne thank you look at a hat don't put that hat on in Oklahoma please Mark they [4:26] won't be too happy acting director of the National Intelligence Bill Pulte Bill [4:32] thank you good job you're doing US ambassador to the Republic of Korea [4:38] Michelle Steele thank you very much thank you and many representatives and some of [4:47] our wonderful senators and congressmen I want to thank you all for being here also [4:52] Vince Fong and young Kim thank you very much thank you both very much a lot of [4:58] politicians I'm not going to introduce the politicians we'll be here all day the [5:03] 2025 Dodger season was one for the record books and 150 years of Major League [5:09] Baseball no player has ever earned more than one unanimous league MVP except for an [5:16] international legend named Shohei Otani Shohei Otani he's amazing he's amazing [5:29] everybody loves him last year Shohei did what was previously unthinkable nobody [5:35] thought it was possible he collected his third straight unanimous league MVP with a [5:41] franchise record 55 home runs and if you would have told me you can be the best [5:46] pitcher and the best hitter at the same time you know Babe Ruth was pretty close to [5:49] that they drafted Babe Ruth he was 19 years old I know something about [5:54] baseball Babe was 19 years old they consider it the worst trade in the [5:59] history of sports I would say Babe will always I take that he was 19 and they [6:05] got a 36 year old third baseman and $100,000 so I would rate that pretty bad [6:10] they drafted him as a pitcher but he did something very unusual he led the league [6:15] in home runs as a pitcher that one you have to do he's pretty close to doing it I [6:19] think I think you're pretty close to doing it but Babe did something that [6:23] nobody and so they made that trade and that goes down as the worst trade in the [6:28] history of baseball and but the Babe was the Babe right you know the second worst [6:34] trade in history just out of curiosity Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the entire Los [6:38] Angeles Lakers team okay they traded the whole team to Milwaukee and they won [6:44] plenty of championships with Kareem but this group started their title defense [6:50] with nine pictures injured before the first fastball was ever thrown they [6:56] played their opening game in Tokyo and traveled more than 2,000 miles it's more [7:01] than any team has ever traveled in fact from the first pitch to the final out they [7:06] endured and triumphed through the longest season of any team in the history of [7:10] major league baseball 229 days I didn't know that did you know that that's a [7:15] pretty crazy fact I mean it's not the kind of fact you think about what is it [7:20] gonna be a half a day long or something I don't know that's a different kind of a [7:23] fact mark than I ever heard of but that's what they give me to read so what can I [7:28] tell you 220 the longest season ever I don't know what the hell that means in the [7:34] postseason the Dodgers exploded with nine wins in their first ten games [7:39] unbeatable in the National League championship series against the [7:44] Brewers the brilliant Dodgers pitching rotation of Blake Snell Tyler glass now [7:50] Shohei and of course Yoshi Yamamoto combined for a record-setting era of just [7:58] point 63 in other words if you get one run you're in good shape that's amazing [8:06] pitching and by the way I just asked Dave I said how are you doing this year you [8:12] know I've been a little busy with Iran and some other things so if I know too [8:16] much you wouldn't be happy I wouldn't be doing a good job if I know too much but [8:19] I said how you're doing he said we have the best record of baseball right so far [8:22] so not starting rotation and think no starting rotation has ever done anything [8:34] better or anything even comparable to the championship series in the history of [8:39] the sport with some great pitches some of the greatest pitches ever in game two of [8:44] the same series superstar max Muncie hit his 14th postseason home run with max [8:49] winners his 14th postseason home that's a lot of home runs in the postseason [9:04] that's breaking the all-time Dodger record who has who's second who did you break [9:10] there max who was second pretty good player right I'll let you know that I'll let you [9:16] he's not done yet I'll figure it out he's gonna yeah he's got a long way to go [9:19] to then the decisive game for Shohei pitched a six inning shutout struck out [9:26] 10 batters and on the other side of the plate hit an unbelievable three home runs [9:31] in fact I was watching the game and before the announcer said it he said that [9:35] might be the greatest game ever played the guy shot pitched six unbelievable [9:40] innings and got three home runs won the game his Herculean effort sealed the [9:45] National League pennant and lifted the Dodgers to the World Series [9:49] championship think of it you have a man on the team who pitched perfectly and hit [9:53] three home runs I think in a single and I said to myself that's the greatest game [9:59] ever played by one person because you did the pitching and the hitting and he's [10:03] not finished yet also right he's not finished he's got a lot of them left that [10:07] World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays proved to be among the most thrilling [10:12] championships in the history of the sport I watched it because I was having a [10:16] little a little bet with the Prime Minister of Canada I had a little bet I [10:23] was not feeling so good for a little while it wasn't it wasn't looking so good [10:27] neither we after splitting the first two games game went game three went to extra [10:35] innings forcing this pitching rotation to grind through some incredibly tough spots [10:40] in the top of the 12th went a long time legend Clayton Kershaw waste play now he's a [10:53] winner you talk about a winner fantastic look at that guy I watched him beat a lot of our [11:00] teams that were supposed to do well they didn't do too well against him and he's [11:04] still pitching well I'll bet right well Scott yeah but it is called ultimately [11:11] talent right yes would you say talent is the whole ball game you could pitch right now if [11:16] they needed you you'd be out there right no and he's smart anyway Clayton took the mound for his [11:28] last time and dodge a blue and with the final pitch of his epic career and it was an epic career he got [11:35] this team out of a bases loaded jam that was really something that picked the right person the rest of the [11:43] bullpen did not allow a single run including the very last addition to the roster reliever Will Klein [11:49] where's Will Klein Clayton where is well that's great thank you well he pitched four scoreless [12:06] innings that's right and sent the game to the record-tying 18th inning at almost 3 a.m. on the East Coast and I [12:14] actually stayed up I was watching it I was watching that game I said will this game ever end it was a [12:21] long one but it was amazing actually I thought it was a game that you were gonna lose about four or [12:26] five times and you ended up winning luck is okay too right yeah it's okay well but with talent you [12:32] get a lot of luck in the bottom of the 18th with a chance to end the game who else would you want at [12:39] the plate other than Freddie Freeman I love Freddie Freeman I spoke you know I was with the Atlanta [12:52] Braves yesterday I said great going losing Freddie I was in Atlanta I made a speech and you're [12:58] you're general manager and president of the team two great people by the way and they do love you [13:04] I wouldn't say they're thrilled but I talked about it I said what about Freddie could you have kept him [13:10] and I don't know the answer to that but all I know is you've been just as good here as you have been [13:16] usually it doesn't work out that way you know you go and it's not quite the same we could name a lot of [13:22] players you got I think you may be even better is he doing pretty well show is he doing a pretty good job right [13:28] Freddie it's pretty good Freddie's pretty good well they are not happy let me just tell you that they [13:33] were very nice people but they weren't thrilled that my bringing your name up on a three two count [13:39] Freddie squared off with a fastball over the middle blasted it 406 feet to center field raised his arms [13:48] high and walked off a World Series game for the second year in a row that was the second year that was [13:54] something then World Series MVP Yoshi Yamamoto aborted he pitched well pitched an incredible game six [14:03] sending the Dodgers to an unforgettable game seven ways you are something you're both something but [14:24] it's an unforgettable game seven was about to take place multiple times this team was one play away [14:30] from losing it all and I knew that I mean you had like four incidents that you came out of the [14:37] right including the catcher with the catcher he's hurt his foot went back on that plate you think I'm [14:45] playing games this is it most of them would have tried to bluff it but he didn't want to do that he [14:50] went back by about a quarter of a second he got there if he didn't go back most players wouldn't do [14:55] that a lot of reasons a lot of reasons you guys are very lucky to have me all right but he did a great job [15:02] doing that that play was amazing and you had many amazing plays in that game and the last two and the last [15:08] three games down four to three in the top of the ninth inning Miguel Rojas slugged his first home run in [15:16] over 40 days to tie it up I expected he was going to do that you know why I heard he's a winner I heard [15:22] he's a winner where is Miguel where are you he's a winner so did you expect that to happen absolutely just [15:36] he thought he was good that was great that was amazing actually in the bottom of the same inning he [15:43] threw out a Blue Jay oh that's right you did that great throw too well that was a hell of a you giving [15:50] him a little increase please that's his all right so they that was pretty good that was a rather good [15:56] game for you wasn't it huh was he the MVP of that game or close maybe not I don't know yeah that's [16:04] right you had a lot of them but they were two incredible plays could you still would you give [16:09] it to him huh gotta go with them they gotta go great job but sprinting home by a fraction of a second [16:17] that was the one I guess I'm talking about with a catcher with the foot right it was unbelievable his [16:21] foot was off the plate but instead of just sort of bluffing it like I would do it baseball bluffing you know [16:27] like pretending it was on okay he went blah and then he went back and touched the plate and if [16:34] he didn't that was the end of that game right unbelievable congratulate him then Andy Paz I wanted [16:44] to get that one right you got it right I wanted to get that right I didn't get that right because the [16:56] Y is an H and it was easy once they told me that I can't get you wrong I'd be in big trouble but Andy [17:04] came off the bench for one single play in the outfield the Blue Jays drove a deep fly ball over [17:10] his head so he turned and he sprinted over a hundred and twenty feet colliding with his teammate and making one of the [17:17] most memorable catches in the history of the World Series it was crazy that catch that was unbelievable and he was put in for [17:25] defensive purposes was that a good move do you think you have a good manager maybe you did that for defense because that was a hell of a catch and then two extra innings [17:35] later the Dodgers I mean this was truly a great World Series right yeah I mean I watched I was watching it and had a reason but I was watching it and I thought it was incredible actually two extra innings later the Dodgers scored the go-ahead run and Yoshi closed out the game on zero days rest becoming the first pitcher in over two decades to win three games in a single World Series and he hit real well too [18:06] a championship for the USA and if they managed to repeat this year they would become the first team to win three in a row since the days of the legendary baseball dynasty the 1990 New York Yankees and I was there for a lot of those games with George Steinbrand he was a friend of mine and he was a guy he liked winning he would do anything to win he would do anything to win [18:27] I tell you but you're doing the same thing it's amazing mark once again congratulations everyone on this historic trip this great journey that you're on and you know I know so many people in baseball I know the owners they work so hard they spend so much money on talent and everything else and I see you here again and I'll probably again and again and again and again and it's a real talent between you and Dave and the people that do all the selecting and these unbelievable athletes [18:57] really great respect so Mark if you say a few words and then Dave and I want to thank everybody for being here this is really a special team it's special winners they're champions and just unbelievable and I wouldn't be surprised to see him back again thank you very much thank you Mr. President it's truly an honor for us to be back at the White House again we are so proud of our 2025 championship team and our back-to-back titles this is such an exceptional group of people [19:34] oh I think sorry okay so okay it's back-to-back titles and we're once again here to celebrate with this great tradition of celebrating a championship with the president of the United States thank you thank you we're grateful to be here following another incredible season with what many believe was the greatest World Series ever played winning back-to-back championships is an extraordinary accomplishment and it reflects the talent determination and character of everyone in the organization thank you for welcoming us today Mr. President [20:09] we're proud of that team we're proud of that team and what is achieved and we hope to be back here again next year thank you Mark thank you Mr. President and I had a script but I just want to say that we're very grateful to be here and you said the term winners many times and this group of men and some men that aren't here that were part of the 25 World Series championship [20:38] um we're big parts of this the support staff the coaches front office ownership uh men of character people of character and um we did something that hasn't been done in over 30 years going back-to-back World Series champions and uh we are going for a three-peat we're in the middle of this season right now the grind so thank you um the only thing I'll have to say is I hope when you watch our guys play uh you can be proud and say these guys do things the right way their names are everywhere on social media [21:08] social media in the news but when it comes to um winning 11 games in October or 13 last year these guys all come together unselfishly and you never know what moment is going to present itself but we have all these guys here that are ready uh when called upon so we're very fortunate to have these guys and hopefully we got more Dodger fans so thank you very much Mr. President [21:31] that looks good we'd like to present this to you as uh oh wow oh you have to be kidding huh wow do I have to report this I don't want to report this that's beautiful thank you very much it's got your name on it so it's only worth it to you that's right that's really good that looks like thank you very much and you know what I'll put a right here [22:11] and a world series jersey thank you very much 47 thank you I just want to say something I don't do often but [22:28] so right behind me is the Oval Office and as I said this is the first time we've ever done this here in the Rose Garden [22:34] because now it's equipped to do it and I hope you like those cushions because they are four inches as [22:39] opposed to one inch it's supposed to be one inch like this like a little pad and I said get me the four inch [22:46] ones they don't make them now they're going to make them after they see this on television [22:49] they'll probably uh they'll make a fortune with them but they are pretty cool but uh I just want to [22:56] say that we're steps away from the most powerful office in the world the Oval Office where everything [23:02] begins and ends and begins it's all the there's nothing like it most important people in the world [23:08] go in there we had King Charles here three weeks ago we have President Xi coming in another three weeks he's [23:14] going to be coming here in September but people walk into the Oval Office and no matter who they are [23:20] they just sort of feel sort of different and it's a great place to negotiate because everyone's all [23:28] discombobulated when they walk in and it's a great time for me to negotiate with them so we do that as [23:34] often as possible but uh I did it with the Dodgers the last time and I'm going to do it with the Dodgers this [23:39] time because we have a special beautiful coin that everybody loves and everybody wants and uh if the [23:45] Dodgers would like we're going to walk and this time it's much closer because last time we had to walk [23:49] all the way from the other side of the building there's the ballroom and the military facility [23:54] here's the helipad we're building we're building a beautiful helipad after many years the heli you know [24:00] helicopters are landing on the grass and the new helicopters didn't do well on grass [24:06] so we're putting up a beautiful helipad and have a lot of things going we're bringing this building [24:11] to a level that it was not at even when it was first built in 1792 if you can believe it so we're [24:17] doing little things as a real estate person I love doing it to me it's an honor it's a great honor to [24:22] do it but so what we're going to do is we're going to take this unbelievable team to the Oval Office [24:27] and we're going to present them with some great things and I just want to thank everybody very much [24:32] this is a special moment and I think especially because it's the Dodgers and it's Dave and Mark [24:38] and people that are unbelievable in their own right unbelievable talents and leaders thank you very [24:43] much and a job well done thank you