Trump says Pete Rose belongs in Hall of Fame — and he wants it done ‘before his funeral’

Pete Rose may never have formally endorsed former President Trump, but the Republican presidential nominee offered an endorsement for baseball’s banished hits leader following Rose’s death this week.

Taking a break from posting on Truth Social about the vice-presidential debate Tuesday night, Trump switched over to X to call for Rose to be immediately allowed into baseball’s Hall of Fame despite the legendary player’s permanent disqualification for betting on baseball as a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

“The GREAT Pete Rose just died,” Trump wrote. “He was one of the most magnificent baseball players ever to play the game. He paid the price! Major League Baseball should have allowed him into the Hall of Fame many years ago. Do it now, before his funeral!”

Rose died Monday of hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the Clark County coroner’s office in Nevada. He was 83. No funeral services have been announced for Rose.

Read more: Pete Rose, baseball legend banished for betting on the game he loved, dies at 83

Banned from baseball since 1989, Rose remained popular with a number of baseball fans and continues to be celebrated in his hometown of Cincinnati.

Trump has spoken out on Rose’s behalf before.

Days before Ohio’s presidential primary in 2016, the first-time candidate told a crowd in West Chester, Ohio, “We gotta let Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.” Trump also tweeted a photo of an autographed baseball he had “just received from @PeteRose_14.” The note on the ball read, “Mr. Trump, please make America great again,” along with Rose’s signature.

Ray Genco, an attorney for Rose, said in an email to the Washington Post on the eve of the 2016 primary: “Pete has made a point not to ‘endorse’ any particular presidential candidate. Though he respects everyone who works hard for our country — any outlet that misinterpreted a signed baseball for an endorsement was wrong. Pete did not send any candidate a baseball or a note of endorsement.”

Trump lost the primary to then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, but he carried the state in the presidential election that November and beat Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president.

Read more: Opinion: We all made the Pete Rose tragedy possible

On Feb. 5, 2020, in the aftermath of the Houston Astros cheating scandal, Rose petitioned MLB for reinstatement. Days later, then-President Trump tweeted his support.

“He gambled, but only on his own team winning, and paid a decades long price,” wrote Trump, who also carried Ohio in the 2020 presidential election but lost the presidency to Joe Biden. “GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. It’s Time!”

In a 2019 interview on Fox Business Network, Rose described himself as “a Donald Trump guy.”

“He’s doing good for the country,” Rose said of the then-president.

Read more: Boiling Point: Why I skipped the presidential debate and went to a baseball game

Rose added that he knew Trump in the 1980s and “he was always a down-to-earth guy.”

“I guess he’s like me in this respect — all through my career, I always answered every question that was asked me,” Rose said. “And sometimes you’re better off not answering every question.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.