President Donald Trump had a busy day on Friday. He had his daily intelligence briefing, then met with the vice premier of China. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dropped into the White House for a meeting, then held a press conference.
Amid all the other work and meetings, Trump also took time to meet with the winners of the Little League world series, as well as a softball team that won its own championship game.
After a full day of work, Trump left the White House just before 5 p.m. Before boarding his Marine One helicopter on the White House lawn, he did a 15-minute press conference with reporters, taking 25 questions.
But he wasn’t going home. His day was far from over. Trump was heading out to Louisiana to hold a campaign rally for his re-election campaign and to help state candidates who face a special election on Tuesday.
And he had a special surprise for that Little League team.
The Eastbank All-Stars just happen to be from suburban New Orleans. So the president decided to give them a lift home — on Air Force One.
The Jefferson Parish-based team had also had a busy day, meeting the president and then getting a tour of the Capitol hosted by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the House minority whip.
Scalise, who joined Trump on his campaign trip, tweeted out a photo of himself and the Eastbank team at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland as they awaited the arrival of the president. “The champs are flying back to Louisiana on Air Force One with @realDonaldTrump after celebrating their Little League World Series Championship victory at The @WhiteHouse!”
The champs are flying back to Louisiana on Air Force One with @realDonaldTrump after celebrating their Little League World Series Championship victory at The @WhiteHouse!
What an amazing day! I’m so proud of this team! ⚾️🏆 pic.twitter.com/k27et9lBCR
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 11, 2019
According to a “pool report,” written by a reporter at the airbase, Trump “spent a couple of minutes shaking hands with a group of Little League players on the tarmac before inviting them all up onto the plane with him. He pointed to pool from the top of the stairs as he said something to the players.”
“Your pooler was told they are ‘catching a ride home’ to Louisiana,” the pooler wrote.
But the middle-schoolers’ day also wasn’t done yet. Trump brought them along to his rally and invited the young players up onto the stage, congratulating them on their winning season.
Trump said he had expected Japan to win the series, as they have done several times, but before introducing the players one by one to the crowd, he said, “But this year you are the world champions.”
Trump asked if any of the boys wanted to address the massive crowd, and most shied away. But one boy stepped up to the microphone and said “Thank you for all the support,” drawing cheers from the crowd.
“Go get ’em kids. Thanks fellas,” Trump said. “They didn’t choke and we don’t choke. We don’t like chokers.”
The Eastbank All-Stars shut out Curacao 8-0 to win the state’s first Little League World Series title, ESPN reported. “The team fought its way back through the losers bracket after dropping its first game to Hawai’i. Louisiana won six games in eight days, becoming the first team to win the LLWS after losing its first game.”