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Trump welcomes World Series champion Cubs to White House

FILE - This Jan. 16, 2017 file photo shows then-President Barack Obama talking with Cubs manager Joe Maddon, center, and co-owner Laura Ricketts, left, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, where the president honored the 2016 World Series Champion baseball team. Maddon and some members of the Chicago Cubs will visit the White House on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 though it’s not an official visit with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) FILE - This Jan. 16, 2017 file photo shows then-President Barack Obama talking with Cubs manager Joe Maddon, center, and co-owner Laura Ricketts, left, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, where the president honored the 2016 World Series Champion baseball team. Maddon and some members of the Chicago Cubs will visit the White House on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 though it’s not an official visit with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

By Associated Press June 28, 2017 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has welcomed the manager and several players from the World Series champion Chicago Cubs to the White House.

Trump met with manager Joe Maddon and some Cubs on Wednesday, and calls the Cubs a “great team.”

They gave him a team jersey printed with “45” in recognition of his status as the 45th U.S. president.

Maddon had said the visit was voluntary for players and not an official trip. Maddon said he was going to the White House out of respect for the Ricketts family, which owns the Cubs and donated to Trump’s campaign.

The Cubs are in Washington to play the Nationals.

In January, the Cubs visited President Barack Obama at the White House after winning the World Series and shortly before his term ended.