Trump Says He'll Skip Yankees Pitch Because Of His 'Strong Focus On The China Virus'

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he wont throw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game with the Boston Red Sox after all because hell be too busy addressing what he called the China virus meaning COVID-19 .

It was only a few days ago Thursday that Trump said he would throw out the ceremonial pitch at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Aug. 15.

The turnabout came a day after Yankees players Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks took a knee during the national anthem before a game at Washingtons Nationals Park in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The men said they plan to do so all season. Trump called athletes who took a knee in the past as a protest against racism and police brutality sons of bitches .

Trump revealed his change of heart, citing his demanding schedule, in a tweet after a weekend of golfing at his New Jersey course.

Because of my strong focus on the China virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I wont be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15, he tweeted. We will make it later in the season, he added.

Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I wont be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Donald J. Trump","author_url":"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump","cache_age":86400,"description":"Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I wont be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2020\n\n","options":{"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Donald J. 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Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I wont be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2020

Trump has been harshly criticized for his racist COVID-19 misnomer China virus as a bid to demonize the Chinese for a disease that he has failed to contain in the U.S. He has also referred to COVID-19 as the kung flu, a phrase his own White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, has called highly offensive .

President Trump talks about the many names of Coronavirus, including Kung Flu. pic.twitter.com/m0aQLfpNuT

Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 21, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Benny","author_url":"https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson","cache_age":86400,"description":"President Trump talks about the many names of Coronavirus, including Kung Flu. pic.twitter.com/m0aQLfpNuT Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 21, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1274503448919228416/pu/img/1WsvZUxMtA4V-qgm.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Benny on 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President Trump talks about the many names of Coronavirus, including Kung Flu. pic.twitter.com/m0aQLfpNuT
Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 21, 2020

Trumps approval rating fell to a record low 32% for how hes handling COVID-19, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Sunday

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Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci threw out the first ceremonial pitch on the opening day of Major League Baseball s abbreviated season last Thursday at Nationals Park. The throw was so atrocious that observers joked that he was trying to flatten the curve of spiking coronavirus cases.

Trump recently blasted Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as an alarmist over his warnings as COVID-19 cases in the nation skyrocket. Fauci later responded, I consider myself more a realist than an alarmist .

As of Sunday, there were more than 4.2 million cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the U.S., with a death toll of nearly 147,000.