Trump says he won't throw out first pitch after all

[July 27, 2020]    (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Sunday he won't be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in New York next month, just days after saying he would do so when the Yankees welcome the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 15.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he travels to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, at Morristown Municipal Airport, in Morristown, U.S., July 26, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

"Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won't be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th," he said on Twitter.

"We will make it later in the season!"

Trump, a native New Yorker who has yet to throw out a first pitch while serving as president, said on Thursday he would throw out the pitch after Yankees President Randy Levine invited him to do so.

The Major League Baseball season kicked off last week with an opening day that was postponed by nearly four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; editing by Richard Pullin)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.