Donald Trump continues to endure his successful presidential campaign, and he seemingly picked up another high-profile endorsement over the weekend from MLB hit king Pete Rose.
Rose, 74, whose lifetime ban from the sport was upheld earlier this offseason by commissioner Rob Manfred, signed a baseball for Trump and requested the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination "please make America great again."
Trump posted a picture of the baseball on his Twitter account shortly ahead of the Ohio primary.
Just received from @PeteRose_14.
Thank you Pete! #VoteTrump on
Tuesday Ohio! #Trump2016#MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/UvP03n7dQq— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2016
Rose joins Johnny Damon and Paul O'Neill on the list of former MLB players to endorse Trump. Maybe Rose is returning the favor after Trump lobbied for the former Cincinnati Red to be inducted into the Hall of Fame despite his lifetime ban for gambling on the sports while he was a player and manager. Trump then expressed discontent when Rose's lifetime ban was upheld in December.
Or maybe the hit king is a fan of Trump because the billionaire used to own a number of casinos. Rose told Manfred that he still gambles (legally) in Las Vegas, which is where he lives and is employed, and that played a big role in the commissioner's ruling on his reinstatement application.
Nonetheless, this is a significant endorsement for Trump considering Rose has a lot of influence in the state of Ohio, having played 19 seasons for the Reds. Additionally, Trump is currently neck-and-neck with Ohio governor John Kasich in the primary and can use whatever edge possible to defeat the beloved politician in his home state.
"Where [Trump] tends to run up the score is with 40-plus white men," said Mack Mariani, Xavier University political science professor. "Those are people who grew up with Pete Rose. That's a smart fit for Trump's voters."
According to a CNS News poll, Kasich and Trump are tied with 33 percent of the vote while Ted Cruz isn't too far behind with 27 percent. On the other hand, Trump is demolishing Florida sentor Marco Rubio in his home state as he leads the way with 44 percent.
We'll see on Tuesday night if Rose's support of Trump had any impact on the Ohio primary.
