The day before Tuesday’s Ohio primary, Donald Trump tweeted a photo that implied an endorsement of a Buckeye State sports legend. Former Cincinnati Red and disgraced gambler Pete Rose had seemingly signed a baseball with a message encouraging Trump in his presidential bid. Here’s Trump’s tweet:
Just received from @PeteRose_14.
Thank you Pete! #VoteTrump on
Tuesday Ohio! #Trump2016#MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/UvP03n7dQq— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2016
But the Washington Post did some reporting and discovered, via Rose’s attorney, that the baseball great did not intend to endorse Trump at all:
The Trump campaign told the Post that the New York businessman never said Rose had endorsed him, only that he was thanking him for the ball. The paper further notes that Rose appears to sign a lot of baseballs, including many with ridiculous messages on them—”I’m sorry I shot JFK” is a prime example.
Should we surprised by Trump’s sleight of language regarding the Rose endorsement? In a word, no. Misleading about matters great and small is a specialty of the GOP frontrunner.
