Yankee Stadium had a different kind of buzz Thursday night as President Donald Trump attended the New York Yankees’ game against the Detroit Tigers, marking the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hours earlier, the president led a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon before traveling to the Bronx.
Trump made his way into the Yankees’ clubhouse before first pitch, shaking hands with players and staff, and reminiscing about his longtime friendship with late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. “A great friend of mine, the whole family,” Trump said. “We won every time I came. You’re gonna win … I want to wish you guys a lot of luck.”
The president even offered a little pep talk to the team, telling the players, “You’re going to go all the way, and you’ll get in the playoff – and I think we’ll start off, how about tonight?”
A presidential spotlight in the Bronx
Aaron Boone admitted earlier in the day he was eager for the visit. “It’s something that I’m excited to be a part of,” the Yankees manager said. Boone also revealed before the game that shortstop Anthony Volpe has been quietly playing with a partial labrum tear in his shoulder – a moment that took on a bit of irony when Trump greeted Volpe with a light pat on the same shoulder.
Security was predictably tight, heightened further after conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday. Fans arriving at Yankee Stadium faced airport-style screening, metal detectors, Secret Service patrols, and even overhead NYPD helicopters. Gates opened three hours before first pitch, with long lines snaking around the ballpark.
Inside, bulletproof glass was installed in an upper-level suite above the visiting Tigers dugout, where Trump sat with Yankees president Randy Levine. The president waved to the crowd and gave a thumbs-up before the national anthem, later shown on the jumbotron.
As of the middle of the eighth inning, the Yankees were ahead 9-2, riding a burst of offense that answered their manager’s and president’s pregame optimism. The Bronx crowd – already on edge for the heightened security and heavy symbolism of the night – had plenty to cheer about as New York looked to close out a badly needed win.
Trump’s visit marked only the third time a sitting U.S. president has attended a game at Yankee Stadium, joining George W. Bush (2001) and Warren G. Harding (1923).
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