Will Chicago Cubs Get 'Trump Bump' After 2nd White House Visit?

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Is there such a thing as the Trump Bump? The president seems to think so, predicting that the Chicago Cubs would turn around their struggling season after an informal visit to the White House on Wednesday while the team was in the nation's capitol to play the Washington Nationals. It's the second time the Cubs have visited the White House since winning the 2016 World Series.

“Your team’s doing OK,” Trump said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “But you’re going to do great starting now, right?”

While this was a repeat visit for the North Siders, it was the first time the Cubs visited the White House while Donald Trump was in office. A formal White House ceremony was held for the team Jan. 16 during President Barack Obama's final days in office. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Trump has close ties to the Ricketts family, which owns the Cubs, although that relationship has had its bumps in the past. The president had nominated Todd Ricketts for deputy commerce secretary, but the team co-owner pulled out of the process after he and the administration were unable to resolve the conflicts caused by his financial holdings.

During Wednesday's visit, the Cubs and Trump posed for photos with the World Series trophy, and third baseman Kris Bryant presented the president with his own No. 45 jersey. Players were not required to attend the visit — which was scheduled before the third game in a four-game series with the Nats — and pitchers Jake Arietta, who pitched Tuesday night, and Hector Rondon were among those who did not make the trip. Arietta and Rondon didn't visit the White House in January either.

RELATED: Chicago Cubs Visit President Barack Obama At White House

The visit did have two head-scratching moments, however. The first involved Alberto Almora appearing to be give an obscene hand gesture in a photo from the event. But the center fielder told the Sun-Times that wasn't the case.

"I had two fingers out," he said. "I’d never do that to the president of the United States. … We laugh about it now. But there were two fingers out there. Definitely two fingers."

The second instance is a bit more baffling. As photos were being taken, Trump waved over Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert — at the White House on unrelated business — to join the group. What makes the impromptu invitation awkward and not simply inexplicable is that the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians to win their first World Series title in 108 years.

The president wasn't the only political figure who received a visit from Cubs officials and the Commissioner's Trophy on Wednesday. Tom Ricketts also stopped by to show off his championship hardware to Sen. Ted Cruz.

But what many people were talking about online was the uncanny resemblance between the two, according to the senator.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon (right), players and the team's 2016 World Series trophy during an informal White House visit Wednesday, June 28. (Photo by Susan Walsh | Assoicated Press)

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