The Washington Nationals visited the White House on Monday fresh off the first World Series title in franchise history, which meant spending the afternoon with President Donald Trump.
Where as various NFL, NBA and college basketball champions have avoided visiting the White House entirely during the Trump presidency, the Nationals had eight players skip the trip — pitcher Sean Doolittle cited Trump’s rhetoric as a reason for his absence.
Star pitcher Stephen Strasburg was among the Nationals who visited the White House, and he quickly became the focus of a viral video that showed him snubbing Trump’s handshake attempt after the pitcher spoke.
The tweet showed Strasburg look at Trump without seeing the attempted handshake and turn to hug manager Dave Martinez. The tweet predictably became a viral moment from the Nationals’ visit — up there with Kurt Suzuki’s MAGA hat and awkward hug with the president.
But there was just one problem with that video: Strasburg didn’t actually leave Trump hanging.
The video in the viral tweet cut off shortly before Strasburg returned to share handshakes with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. It doesn’t get more definitive than that photo above.
The video was deceptively trimmed.
Strasburg, who opted out of his contract with the Nationals, was serenaded with “Four More Years” chants after speaking at the White House.
