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Former and current New York Yankees players have shown support for Donald Trump. Trump, who won the 2024 election over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, will take office on January 20, 2025, for his second term after winning the 2016 Presidential Election.
While many MLB players have shown their support for either candidate and their lack of support for the other, former Yankees World Series champion Johnny Damon has stronger opinions than most.
In an interview, Damon expressed his excitement for Trump to return to office, highlighting how he believes Joe Biden’s current administration has done a poor job.
“We’ve just been really good friends, and I’m glad that he’s back in office and I’m glad we have somebody who’s going to be out there, somebody who’s going to answer questions, somebody who’s going to do the work to make America great again,” Damon said, according to Jackson Thompson of FOX News.
“Unfortunately, this last administration, we can’t see anything positive that they’ve done, and hopefully, Donald Trump doesn’t get any backlash for anything he’s doing because he’s already done more than what President Biden has done in his four years and Trump’s not even in office right now. So I’m very, very happy my friend is back in office.”
Damon’s Long Relationship With Trump
The former New York Yankees left-handed hitter has long been a fan of Trump. Damon, however, believes people don’t understand him when he says he’s friends with him.
“Unfortunately, whenever you say you’re friends with Donald Trump, we have a lot of people who just can not understand that,” Damon said.
The two met while Damon was with the Yankees, meeting him directly through the organization. According to Thompson, Trump invited Damon to play golf at Mar-a-Lago, which eventually helped form their relationship.
In February 2021, Damon was arrested in Florida for a DUI. In leaked bodycam footage, Damon claimed he was being targeted because he supported Trump.
“I was getting ready to run for politics, and thinking about it seriously, and then I get pulled over,” Damon said.
“Unfortunately, people want to go after great citizens, and at the end of the day I’m going to continue to be who I am.”
In December 2020, Trump appointed Damon to serve on the Council of Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, which led to Damon wanting to pursue a political future.
However, his arrest ended those thoughts.
“I’m going to continue to be friends with him,” Damon said. “And I support my friends through the thick and thin, the good and the bad, so that’s who I am and that’s who I’m going to continue to be.”
Damon Has Always Wanted Trump
The ex-New York Yankees outfielder showed just as much support to Trump in 2016, so this isn’t the first time Damon has commented about wanting him in office.
“I want (Trump) for president,” Damon told the Daily News in 2016. “I’m a Trump fan ever since I met him seven or eight years ago. Everything he does, he does first-class — his hotels, his businesses, his golf courses. The issues all the other politicians failed to discuss, (Trump) is bringing us up to speed.”
He got his wish, and it sounds like he’ll support his friend no matter what.