President Joe Biden hosted the Texas Rangers baseball team at the White House on Thursday to celebrate their World Series victory.
The 81-year-old arrived armed with dad jokes, but he spoiled a compliment for the team’s pitcher, Nathan Eovaldi, who arrived at the White House dressed in a smart blue suit.
“Your star pitcher, Nathan, where are you, Nathan?” Biden asked. “And by the way, I want to know who the hell made his haberdashery. I like his dress, man, I’ll tell you that. You look good, Nathan.”
A haberdashery refers to a clothing store for men.
Biden also couldn’t resist telling the Texas Rangers that he was a Philadelphia Phillies fan.
President Joe Biden (right) received a pair of cowboy boots and a Texas Rangers jersey from Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (left) at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
President Joe Biden poses for a photo with the World Series-winning Texas Rangers after telling the team he’s a Philadelphia Phillies fan thanks to his wife
“I want to go on record as saying that I have a bit of a knack for saying nice things because I married a Philly girl,” he said. “Philly fans are tough anyway.”
“And if I didn’t root for the Phillies, I’d be sleeping alone,” he said with a laugh.
First Lady Jill Biden grew up in Philadelphia and is a huge Phillies fan. She traveled to Citizens Bank Park in November 2022 to watch her team lose to the Houston Astros during that bid for the World Series.
“She understands that part of the deal,” Biden continued, alluding to how he had to host a Phillies rival at the White House that afternoon.
He pointed out to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy that Bochy had four World Series to his name.
“I told him he was going to need another finger,” Biden said. “Or else he’d have to put the fifth ring on his thumb. I don’t know how you do that, man.”
During his brief remarks, Biden also highlighted the team’s local ties.
President Joe Biden asked the audience what he was supposed to do next when he was supposed to leave. He was captured leaving the East Room after hosting the World Series-winning Texas Rangers at the White House on Thursday.
“As you know, it’s been 50 years since this franchise left Washington,” he said. “You’re back in the nation’s capital as world champions and you deserve it.”
The Rangers were formerly the Washington Senators before being relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the early 1970s.
“You kept the faith. And just like your favorite brand, Creed, you took each other higher and higher,” Biden said with a laugh. “You really did.”
The Texas Rangers actually used Creed’s 1999 hit, With Arms Wide Open, as the theme music for their playoff bid.
Following his remarks, Biden was presented with a Team Biden T-shirt and a pair of Bochy cowboy boots.
“That’ll give me two more inches,” Biden said, looking at the heels of his boots.
At the end of the event, the president asked those present what would be next.
—So, what am I doing now? —he asked with a laugh.
He was supposed to leave.
Biden did so after greeting several people seated in the audience.
As he left, he ignored reporters’ questions about whether Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump had agreed to at least one presidential debate.