Trump swipes at California's Dems while celebrating Dodgers
President Trump on Monday welcomed the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House.
Trump celebrated the Dodgers' victory over the New York Yankees last October, praising the team's resilience, talent and "movie star" looks.
The president also used the event to take an apparent swipe at California's Democratic senators, who were not in attendance for the event in the East Room, though he did not refer to them by name.
"We have a couple senators here. I just don't particularly like them, so I won't introduce them," Trump said after rattling off a list of California lawmakers who were in attendance.
The comments were an apparent reference to Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), but spokespeople for both Schiff and Padilla confirmed to The Hill that neither one was in the room for the event.
Trump joked that he didn't think the comment was a big deal after awkward laughter lingered in the room.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani was in attendance, as was pitcher Clayton Kershaw, infielder Mookie Betts and manager Dave Roberts.
The Dodgers are the second champion sports team to visit the White House since Trump returned to office, following the NHL's Florida Panthers. It is a return to tradition after many sports teams skipped visiting the White House during Trump's first term.
The team was also unwittingly at the center of a recent controversy involving the Trump administration last month after the Pentagon removed and later restored a webpage detailing Jackie Robinson's military service as part of a broader effort to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion.
This story was updated at 2:31 p.m.