Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 23
Trump Urges Braves Fans to Keep Tomahawk Chop, Mocks Mets' Top Payroll
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 23

Trump Urges Braves Fans to Keep Tomahawk Chop, Mocks Mets' Top Payroll

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 23

Summary

  • At a Marietta, Georgia, event, Donald Trump told Atlanta Braves fans to keep doing the “Tomahawk Chop” and briefly joined the gesture as the crowd chanted.
  • Trump paired that encouragement with praise for the Braves’ organization, joking that the New York Mets have baseball’s highest payroll yet “lose all the time.”
  • Brian Snitker, 70, appeared onstage with Braves executive Mike Plant; Trump overstated Snitker’s résumé, calling the retired former manager a Hall of Famer when he is only in the Braves Hall of Fame.
  • The appearance came a day before the Los Angeles Dodgers’ White House visit and echoed Trump’s recent push for an MLB salary cap, a stance aligned with owners and opposed by the players’ union.
  • The chop remains contentious: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred defended it in 2021 as locally supported, even as other teams such as the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Commanders changed names.

Insights

How will the 'Tomahawk Chop' debate affect the Braves' business model, which links team branding directly to real estate success?
Beyond the initial $1,000, what are the long-term financial risks and rewards of the new 'Trump Accounts' for American families?
As sports traditions face cultural scrutiny, where should teams and fans draw the line between homage and appropriation?