Joe Maddon, Cubs will make 'absolutely voluntary' White House trip
WASHINGTON - The Chicago Cubs will visit the White House on Wednesday, manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday afternoon, as he will parlay a visit to a friend in Congress with a trip to the Oval Office.
The visit, which Maddon termed voluntary and informal, comes five months after the Cubs celebrated their 2016 World Series title with a White House visit in the final days of Barack Obama's presidency.
Maddon said the team will make the visit out of respect for the office of the presidency, and the Ricketts family - which has divergent political interests.
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Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts donated to Trump's campaign, and his brother, Pete Ricketts, is the Republican governor of Nebraska who stumped with Vice President Pence during the 2016 campaign. Todd Ricketts was nominated by President Trump to serve as deputy commerce secretary, but withdrew his name from consideration due to conflicts with family-run enterprises.
Laura Ricketts, meanwhile, is a prominent Democratic fund-raiser and was instrumental in the Cubs visiting the White House before Obama left office.
The Cubs are in the midst of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals that concludes Thursday.
"A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that the Ricketts family is tied in there really well," Maddon said Wednesday. "Whatever Mr. Ricketts would like me to do I’m gonna do. Mr. Ricketts and the Ricketts family has been good to all of us.
"Part of that is that, and the other part is whenever you have a chance to go to the White House, I think it’s easy to say yes out of respect to the office."
One of Maddon’s best friends is congressman Lou Barletta (R, Penn.), who grew up in Maddon’s hometown of Hazleton, Pa. Barletta invited Maddon to a luncheon on Wednesday before a group of Young Republicans; after that, Maddon said, "we're gonna take that on over to the big house."
Maddon termed the visit "absolutely voluntary," and it comes at a time the gesture has become even more politically charged. While the Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins have publicly said they would go if invited to Trump’s White House, the Golden State Warriors have been far less committal. Most recently, though, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he believes there could be “really positive ramifications if we go,” but ultimately is leaving it up to his players to decide, if invited.
Maddon views the trip more from the view of the office itself, and not necessarily its current occupant.
"Listen, I like the United States a lot, I like living here a lot, I like everything that it represents a lot," he says. "So when you get a chance as a citizen to get to go to the White House, you go. I think you go.
"Whether you like the person that’s running the country or not, out of respect to the office itself, you go. I don’t agree with all the other banter that’s going on right now because I have a different perspective.I would much prefer living here than some of the other places that adopt different methods of government. I think sometimes that gets confused and people want to make a stand and not really realize what we actually have – which is a lot better than most other places."
