On the eve of the Chicago Cubs’ attempt to end a 108-year World Series drought, a hero from the most legendary drought-busting Major League Baseball team took a seat behind Donald Trump at a Florida rally.
Johnny Damon, a center fielder from the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series championship team, waved a red “Make America Great Again” sign and cheered on the Republican nominee during the Wednesday rally in Orlando. Trump even gave him a shout out, calling him the “ultimate champion and winner” and “the great Johnny Damon.”
For a brief moment before the rally, Damon addressed the crowd.
“People wonder why I like Donald Trump,” he said. “I actually love the guy. Why? Because he likes winners, he likes to win, he likes everything to be great, not just for him but for everybody, and he wants to make America great again.”
He later proclaimed that Trump would be great because “we need more jobs.”
Damon was a contestant on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" in early 2015, right before Trump announced his candidacy. He was fired.
Damon, the two-time All-Star who finished his career with nearly 3,000 hits, isn't the only ex-2004 Red Sox great to be publicly backing Trump. (Damon first announced his support in March.)
Curt Schilling, a star pitcher-turned-conservative-firebrand, is a big Trump backer who recently secured his own radio show for Breitbart. Schilling is also flirting with a 2018 Senate run in Massachusetts, seeking to oppose Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Another prominent member of the 2004 Red Sox, slugger David Ortiz, publicly came out in support of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton earlier this summer - slamming Trump in the process.
Trump has received the support of many in the sports world during his candidacy, including golf legend Jack Nicklaus, MLB star Paul O'Neill, famed college basketball coach Bobby Knight, and NFL Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton.
