Donald Trump insisted that former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite the drug allegations tainting his legacy.
Clemens is considered one of the greatest players to take to the mound following his glittering 24-season career in the majors, including stints with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
However, the 63-year-old was named in the 2007 Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball.
And, while Clemens has always denied the allegations, they appear to have affected the seven-time Cy Young winner’s reputation in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters – but not in the president’s.
Trump, in a fiery Truth Social rant, pleaded Clemens’s case following a round of golf with the former baseball star and his son Kacy, as he likened the pitcher’s Hall of Fame exile to that of late MLB legend Pete Rose.
The president took credit for getting Rose reinstated by MLB earlier this year and now appears to believe he could have the same sway over commissioner Rob Manfred when it comes to Clemens.
Donald Trump insisted that Roger Clemens should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
‘Roger Clemens was easily one of the few Greatest Pitchers of All Time, winning 354 Games, the Cy Young Award seven times (A Record, by a lot!), and played in six World Series, winning two!’ Trump began. ‘He was second to Nolan Ryan in most strike-outs, and he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, NOW!
‘People think he took drugs, but nothing was proven. He never tested positive, and Roger, from the very beginning, totally denies it. He was just as great before those erroneous charges were leveled at him. That rumor has gone on for years, and there has been no evidence whatsoever that he was a “druggie.”
‘This is going to be like Pete Rose where, after over 4,000 Hits, they wouldn’t put him in the Hall of Fame until I spoke to the Commissioner, and he promised to do so, but it was essentially a promise not kept because he only “opened it up” when Pete died and, even then, he said that Pete Rose only got into the mix because of DEATH.
‘We are not going to let that happen in the case of Roger Clemens. 354 Wins — Put him in NOW. He and his great family should not be forced to endure this “stupidity” any longer!’
In March, Trump hit out at MLB, claiming the league needed to ‘get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect’ Rose posthumously to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The late baseball legend was then made Hall of Fame eligible in May when the commissioner altered the policy, consequently lifting the lifetime ban handed down to the 17-time All-Star by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989.
And Manfred later confessed that the president’s outspoken support of Rose – despite the scandals that plagued his career – influenced his decision.
‘The President was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,’ he told reporters, via TMZ. ‘Obviously, I have respect for the office, and the advice that he gave, I paid attention to.’
The president took to Truth Social to plead Clemens’s case in a fiery rant
The late Pete Rose became Hall of Fame eligible in May after a ruling from Rob Manfred
However, the commissioner did also stress that Trump wasn’t the only voice he listened to when weighing up the decision.
Rose, a three-time World Series winner, passed away at the age of 83 in September 2024 without ever fulfilling his wish to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
While he is considered one of the greatest players in history, the legend was slapped with a lifetime ban for betting on the Cincinnati Reds as both a player and manager of the team in 1989.
Yet, Trump has long been an advocate for Rose, saying that he belongs in Cooperstown despite the all-time hit king’s issues with gambling, tax fraud, and alleged statutory rape.
