While speaking at a rally in Georgia, President Donald Trump threw a vicious and unexpected jab at a baseball team that, quite frankly, deserves it.
Trump gave the speech in Marietta, Georgia, while accompanied by Atlanta Braves President and CEO Mike Plant and former team manager Brian Snitker on Wednesday. Trump judged (correctly) that it would be well received if he took a shot at the Braves’ woeful division rival, the New York Mets.
After speaking about his love of baseball, the president introduced Snitker and Plant while lowering the boom on the Mets.
“So, I like baseball,” Trump said, “but this guy (Braves President Mike Plant) has done such a great job. You know, the Mets have the highest salary in baseball, and they lose all the time. And I say, ‘Maybe we can steal this guy.’”
Trump continued, “There are teams like that, where they never go down. Then you have other teams — ‘We’re rebuilding.’ They’ve been rebuilding for years. I don’t want to mention teams ’cause I know all the owners. They’re all friends of mine.”
The president was close to being correct but was slightly off. The Mets actually have the second-highest salary in baseball, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, when it comes to not getting bang for your buck, which was the president’s larger point, he is absolutely correct: The Mets, by far, get the least out of what they pay for.
As it stands, the Mets sit 17.5 games behind the first-placed Braves. Only the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies trail their division leader by a wider margin.