Miami Marlins
President Trump declines Nationals' invitation to throw first pitch on Opening Day
Miami Marlins

President Trump declines Nationals' invitation to throw first pitch on Opening Day

Published Mar. 28, 2017 1:06 p.m. ET

President Donald Trump will not participate in the Opening Day festivities by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Marlins-Nationals game in Washington, D.C. Monday afternoon.

https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/846757008195960834

According to a White House spokesman, the president has a “scheduling conflict” for Monday’s 1:05 p.m. ET start.

https://twitter.com/ScottSAllen/status/846757363294093313

Earlier Tuesday, there was a report from Politico that President Trump was in talks to throw out the first pitch and then possibly join the MASN broadcast booth for an inning. But those plans apparently are off — meaning we will miss out on a potential meeting of the flows between President Trump and Bryce Harper.

fe73f40e-032817-MLB-BryceHarper2-PI

Bryce Harper

 Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The tradition of the acting president throwing out the first pitch dates back to William H. Taft in 1910 for the Washington Senators. The Washington Post notes that President Bush threw out the first pitch in D.C. in 2008 and President Obama did so in 2010.

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