Former MLB star Mark Teixeira has announced that he's entered the race to fill the U.S. House seat of Republican Rep. Chip Roy in Texas's 21st District. While Roy, who is running for Texas attorney general, hasn't been shy about criticizing President Donald Trump on issues such as border security and even endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential primary, Teixeira offered nothing but praise for the president and the MAGA movement. He expressed these views in an interview with Fox News' Sandra Smith on Friday:
Got involved in some local politics, some fundraising, doing events for different advocacy groups, and for me, I just wanted to see if this was something I was interested in. Well, it ended up that I loved it, and seeing President Trump and his America First agenda really getting after it the last seven months and making America great again is something that is working for American families.
This agenda is working, and so for me, I just felt like now was the time to join that team.
He then delivered a strong message to Democrats:
You see what President Trump's doing in Washington, D.C. right now. It's working. And so what I would tell Democrats in Texas, all over the country, is when you have policies that actually want to help Americans, come talk to us.
But Republicans are out there, conservatives are out there with an American First agenda, and we're going to be helping Americans, helping Texans every single day.
Rep. Roy has served since 2019, and he easily won reelection in 2024, beating Democrat Kristin Hook by over 15 points. The Texas Tribune reports that the "seat remained solidly Republican under the new congressional map approved by the Texas Legislature last week."
The 45-year-old Teixeira, who was a three-time All-Star during his 14-year MLB career, won a World Series championship with the New York Yankees in 2009. One of the best switch-hitting sluggers of all time, he might have made the Hall of Fame had injuries not plagued him late in his career.
Teixeira is just one of several former MLB players who have expressed their support for Trump.
Related: I Wish the People in Charge of Baseball Would Stop Trying to Ruin Baseball
After Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., during the 2024 campaign, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens wrote: “Speechless right now. Could not be more mad. I stand for this man. This picture says it all. The angry American is here and y’all aren’t ready for it."
Speechless right now. Could not be more mad. I stand for this man. This picture says it all. The angry American is here and yall aren’t ready for it. pic.twitter.com/lN23VfHmT9
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) July 13, 2024
While Clemens hasn't made the Hall of Fame because of steroid allegations (Trump posted a defense of him on Saturday), another Trump supporter, New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, was the first unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame in 2019. Rivera, perhaps the best relief pitcher of all time, endorsed Trump in 2024 on WABC Radio’s "Sid & Friends."
President Trump, he's my friend. I can't deny that. I will tell that to anyone. Before he was the president, he was my friend. Because of that, I'm going to vote for him.
Two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon said earlier this year that he is unfazed by the hatred he's experienced for being friends with Trump:
I’m not too concerned about it because I know what’s right. I know illegal immigrants who are criminals should not be in our country. I know it should be a fair playing field out there – that’s why the tariffs are coming.
I mentioned to my friends years ago, I was like, "Is Ukraine ever going to pay us back? I mean we’re giving them so much money" and everybody kinda said, "Yeah, I don’t know how that works out." Well, as we see on the world stage right now, President Trump is trying to make peace with Russia and Ukraine … and there’s a lot of war going on that nobody ever wants to have.
Another former Yankee, Paul O'Neill, also faced some repercussions when he endorsed Trump in 2016. From NJ.com:
Former Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill faced widespread backlash when he endorsed Trump in the 2016 presidential race. The New York Daily News’ front-page headline the next day was "APPALL O'NEIL" and Yankees fans wrote open letters to O’Neill, who had been one of the fans’ favorite players on championship teams.
Major League Baseball may be getting increasingly woke, but there's no shortage of players from a bygone era who support the 45th and 47th president of the United States. One of them may soon be joining him in Washington, D.C.
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