Donald Trump has found himself in the middle of another scandalous debate.
This time, his defense is being viewed as him fighting for a place in history he could never earn. And that has critics questioning why this particular Hall of Fame fight matters so much to him.
Trump recently blasted the voters responsible for keeping Roger Clemens out of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, he called out the HOF in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
Trump insisted the seven-time Cy Young winner belongs in Cooperstown. He closed his argument by saying, “No wonder Baseball is in trouble!”
“How about Roger Clemens not being in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, all because a bunch of jealous people with far less Talent, voted that he shouldn’t be there,” he wrote on Wednesday.
“Roger is easily one of the few Greatest Pitchers of All Time,” Trump declared.
Clemens has the résumé to make a strong case, with 354 wins and seven Cy Young Awards. He pitched 24 seasons for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.
TRUMP: Says Roger Clemens belongs in Baseball Hall of Fame, citing 354 wins and record seven Cy Young Awards; claims jealous voters kept him out pic.twitter.com/ZEVlSjlrsQ
— Trump Truths (@trumptruthsbot) August 26, 2026
But his Hall of Fame journey has remained messy for years because of allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs, as discovered in the 2007 Mitchell Report led by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.
Clemens denied the allegations and was later acquitted of charges tied to his congressional testimony in 2008.
Two years later, he was indicted on charges including perjury and obstruction of Congress. A jury acquitted him on all counts.
That didn’t stop the internet from having a little fun with Trump’s defense.
7x Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens posted this photo on Instagram of him gifting President Trump a signed Yankees jersey last weekend in New Jersey:
— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) July 24, 2026
“To 45/47: You are the best!” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/l870IlWKvG
“Baseball In trouble lol no it’s the republicans that are in trouble,” one person joked.
Naturally, the internet had thoughts about Trump going to bat for him. Critics pointed straight to the steroid allegations, with one person bluntly writing, “Cheaters recognize cheaters!!!”
Another called Trump’s defense “pathetically obvious” since “he thinks all well known cheaters should still be lauded as great people.”
Someone else joked that Trump probably thinks he belongs in the Hall of Fame. “Trump probably believes he deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame too,” they quipped.
That last joke has more history behind it than it might seem. Trump has spent years talking himself up as a baseball standout, repeatedly suggesting he had the talent to play professionally before real estate took him in another direction.
During a Jan. 20 White House briefing, Trump reminisced about playing Little League near Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.
“I was quite the baseball player. You wouldn’t believe it,” Trump said. He went on to say his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was convinced he had a real shot at the majors.
“She said, ‘Son, you could be a professional baseball player.’ I said, ‘Thanks, Mom,'” Trump recalled.
Here’s a clip about how Trump’s mom said he could be a baseball player before explaining what a mental institution is pic.twitter.com/ZCFjnstfc7
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 20, 2026
So when Trump suddenly takes the field for Clemens, critics have plenty of old material to work with.
His latest baseball intervention doesn’t just revive the Clemens debate. It also puts Trump’s own self-described sports legacy back in the spotlight.
The POTUS told MTV back in 2010 that he captained his baseball team. He said he was “supposed to be a professional baseball player” before real estate got in the way, the Business Insider reported.
By 2013, he tweeted, “I played football and baseball, sorry, but said to be the best bball player in N.Y. State-ask coach Ted Dobias-said best he ever coached.”
I played football and baseball, sorry, but said to be the best bball player in N.Y. State-ask coach Ted Dobias-said best he ever coached.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2013
Trump played baseball for three years at New York Military Academy. But his most widely remembered ceremonial pitch didn’t exactly scream Cy Young.
Photos from a 2006 Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park caught Trump wearing an awkward grimace mid-throw. It looked less like a former baseball sensation and more like a man wrestling with an invisible fitted sheet.
@al_superfooty – update to that yarn you wrote yesterday: “Donald Trump throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston in 2006.” pic.twitter.com/kyvSegV5Wh
— Michael Randall (@MickRandallHS) October 28, 2019
Clemens will have to wait until at least 2031 for another shot at Cooperstown. Trump, however, apparently isn’t waiting for anyone to call him a baseball expert. He keeps volunteering the credentials himself.
