Trump Plans To Issue Posthumous Pardon For Baseball Great Pete Rose
On Friday, President Donald Trump announced via his Truth Social account that he intends to grant a posthumous pardon to baseball icon Pete Rose.
“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Trump stated. “Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously.”
Trump continued, adding, “WHAT A SHAME! Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!”
Rose, who died last year at 83, had been permanently barred from Major League Baseball. Back in 2004, he publicly acknowledged that he had wagered on games, though he insisted he never placed bets against the team he was managing. In 2015, then-Commissioner Rob Manfred formally rejected Rose’s appeal for reinstatement, according to ESPN.
Trump did not clarify what specific offenses would be covered by the pardon. Rose previously served a five-month prison term after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 1990.
John Dowd, who led MLB’s investigation into Rose in 1989 and later served as Trump’s attorney, responded to the announcement in a statement to ESPN, pointing out that Major League Baseball itself is “not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF.”
Over his legendary career, Rose played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1963 to 1986, earning three World Series championships. Even today, he still holds MLB records for total hits, games played, at-bats, singles, and outs, ESPN reported.
Fox News also highlighted Rose’s achievements, noting that he was “league MVP in 1973, a 17-time All-Star, three-time batting title winner, Rookie of the Year and World Series MVP.”
Rose made efforts to restore his eligibility in both 2020 and 2022, particularly as legalized sports betting spread across the country. But Manfred rejected both petitions, saying the Hall of Fame decision would be left to the Veterans Committee. In 2023, Manfred again dismissed any reconsideration, citing MLB’s growing partnerships with sportsbooks as complicating factors.
Despite remaining ineligible for Cooperstown, the Cincinnati Reds recognized Rose’s legacy by inducting him into their team hall of fame in 2016 and officially retiring his iconic No. 14 jersey. Even in his later years, Rose made regular appearances at MLB stadiums, Fox reported.
In other news, Trump signed an executive order on Friday officially declaring English as the national language of the United States.
A White House official confirmed that the new order rescinds a rule introduced by President Clinton in 2000, which required federal programs receiving public funds to offer language support for non-English speakers.
According to The Washington Times, this move marks the first time in the country’s 249-year history that the United States has formally designated an official language.
A summary of the order obtained by The Wall Street Journal explains that federal agencies may still choose to offer materials in other languages. However, the order emphasizes that the goal of making English the national language is to strengthen national unity, improve the efficiency of government services, and encourage greater participation in civic life.
During the recent presidential race, Trump raised concerns that non-English-speaking migrants were being “dropped” into communities like Springfield, Ohio, and claimed that migrant students were struggling in classrooms because they couldn’t speak English.
“We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language,” Trump said last year. “These are languages—it’s the craziest thing—they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.”