Washington Nationals Catcher Dons MAGA Hat, Gets Hug From Trump At White House

Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki sported a Make America Great Again hat and received a warm welcome from President Donald Trump during his teams White House visit Monday.

The friendly interaction comes just after pitcher Sean Doolittle declined to attend in protest of the presidents administration.

Introducing Suzuki before an audience, Trump praised his performance on the field, inviting him to the podium to say a few words.

As Suzuki walked over, he pulled out the signature red hat and placed it on his head, stretching his arms out to the crowd.

I love him! Trump said, hugging the athlete.

Suzuki, offering only a short statement, said, I love you all. Thank you.

What a job he did, Trump remarked. I didnt know that was going to happen.

.@Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki puts on a MAGA hat and gets a hug from @POTUS during White House visit pic.twitter.com/vdXSUveZkD

Monica Akhtar (@Monica_Akhtar) November 4, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Monica Akhtar","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Monica_Akhtar","cache_age":86400,"description":".@Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki puts on a MAGA hat and gets a hug from @POTUS during White House visit pic.twitter.com/vdXSUveZkD Monica Akhtar (@Monica_Akhtar) November 4, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1191433399535316993/pu/img/ER01Ndsa-B-_lRHV.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Monica Akhtar on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Monica_Akhtar/status/1191433549297201152","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5dc082eae4b0615b8a97766c","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/washington-nationals-kurt-suzuki-maga-hat-donald-trump-white-house_n_5dc082eae4b0615b8a97766c","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,white-house,politics,mlb,washington-nationals","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/7b66732c-2c54-4ddf-89b9-eadb8003848d/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5dc082eae4b0615b8a97766c","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"White House","slug":"white-house","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/white-house","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/white-house","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/white-house"},"relegenceId":3698131,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"White House","slug":"white-house","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/white-house"},{"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics"},"relegenceSubjectId":982065,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics News","slug":"politics-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-news"},{"name":"MLB","slug":"mlb","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mlb","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mlb","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mlb"},"relegenceId":3698982,"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"MLB","slug":"mlb","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mlb"},{"name":"washington nationals","slug":"washington-nationals","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/washington-nationals","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-nationals","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/washington-nationals"},"relegenceId":3020080,"url":"https://action.news/topic/washington-nationals"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

.@Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki puts on a MAGA hat and gets a hug from @POTUS during White House visit pic.twitter.com/vdXSUveZkD
Monica Akhtar (@Monica_Akhtar) November 4, 2019

On Friday, after the Nationals World Series win against the Houston Astros, Doolittle told The Washington Post he would boycott the White House celebration , noting that as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I cant do it.

Theres a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country, Doolittle said.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Doolittle supports LGBTQ rights and has worked with military veterans and Syrian refugees alongside his wife.

According to The Associated Press , seven members of the Nationals skipped the event.