Ortiz went with the Red Sox to the White House after winning the World Series in 2004, 2007 and 2013. Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said he would not attend the team's celebration at the White House on Thursday, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford. Ortiz was not a member of the 2018 World Series winning team. A contingent of Boston's organization will meet with President Trump on Thursday, but a portion of the team declined the invitation, including manager Alex Cora. Ortiz said he would stand with Cora if he were still playing, citing Trump's rhetoric and policies regarding immigration. “I don’t think it’s the political side of it. I think it’s more of what is going on,” Ortiz told Bradford on Thursday. “I’m an immigrant. When it comes down to the political side of it I don’t know much about politics and things like that. But when it comes down the way immigrants have been treated it’s something that goes a long way. You don’t want to go and shake hands with a guy who is treating immigrants like s--- because I’m an immigrant.” Ortiz grew up in the Dominican Republic and became a U.S. Citizen in 2008. He visited the White House with Boston following their World Series wins in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He also met with President George W. Bush twice and once with President Barack Obama. Cora told the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día he will not visit the White House due to Trump's response to Hurricane Maria, which struck the island in 2017. Ortiz retired after the 2016 season. He finished his career with 541 homers in 20 seasons with a career .947 OPS in the postseason.<doc-sep>If David Ortiz were still on the Red Sox, he would side with manager Alex Cora. He wouldn’t be at the White House today to meet President Trump, either. “Alex is in a tough spot right now, going there and acting like nothing is happening,” the former slugger told WEEI of Cora, the Puerto Rico native who opted not to attend the celebration Thursday because of the government’s handling of his hurricane-ravaged homeland, while certain players and other members of the organization will be there. “It’s like you are going to shake hands with the enemy. Think about it, all the stuff that has been going on since he took office. People are angry. People are mad. He has divided people, that’s how it feels like.” Ortiz visited the White House three times after winning a World Series in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He took a selfie with President Obama. He met with President George W. Bush. But he wouldn’t do the same with Trump. As an immigrant, it would be against everything he believes in. He became an American citizen in 2008 after growing up in the Dominican Republic. “I don’t think it’s the political side of it. I think it’s more of what is going on,” Ortiz said. “I’m an immigrant. When it comes down to the political side of it I don’t know much about politics and things like that. But when it comes down the way immigrants have been treated it’s something that goes a long way. You don’t want to go and shake hands with a guy who is treating immigrants like s–t because I’m an immigrant.” Cora feels the same way about how Trump and the White House have treated Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “For me, obviously, just being around the island and knowing what is going on, how people are, it doesn’t feel right,” Cora said Thursday, also on WEEI. “The government has helped, but we still have a long way to go. I put it in capital letters: This is our reality. I am the guy that has lived it. I am the guy down there in the offseason and I understand how it is. I just don’t feel right going and celebrating while people are struggling back home.”<doc-sep>“Put it this way, in sports, it’s more likely a big percentage of black people and Spanish people are descendants from immigrants,” Ortiz said. “So once you see what is going in this country based on being an immigrant or being black it’s something that goes beyond going into the White House and shaking hands with the president just because. That’s the situation that everyone is facing right now. I’m not saying everything Donald Trump is doing is bad, but I guess he started off on the wrong foot.<doc-sep>Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz sided with manager Alex Cora, saying he'd also skip a White House visit because President Trump has "divided people." "You don’t want to go and shake hands with a guy who is treating immigrants like (expletive) because I’m an immigrant," Ortiz, who hails from the Dominican Republic, told the WEEI Boston radio station on Monday. "Once you see what is going in this country based on being an immigrant or being black, it’s something that goes beyond going into the White House and shaking hands with the President just because." Ortiz added: "I’m not saying everything Donald Trump is doing is bad but I guess he started off on the wrong foot." Ortiz visited the White House in 2004, 2007 and 2013 after Red Sox won the World Series, meeting former presidents George Bush and Barack Obama. "You get excited about going and seeing the President," Ortiz said. "But nowadays with all the controversy going on with the President and the sports teams not wanting to go, it’s more of a challenge.” The Red Sox have opened the door for conflict and criticism in recent days for allowing individual players to decide whether to attend the White House event Thursday afternoon. More than a dozen players and team executives, most of them white, plan to celebrate last year's World Series win at the White House, while a lengthy list of African-American and Latino players have pledged to forego the visit. TRUMP: Cora speaks on White House: No clubhouse divide COLUMN: White Sox should have avoided the White House Cora, Boston's second-year manager, is among those who will not be at the White House on Thursday. A native of Puerto Rico, he has been an advocate for the U.S. territory in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017 and is still recovering. “Alex is in a tough spot right now, going there and acting like nothing is happening," Ortiz said, empathizing with the manager's position. "It’s like you are going to shake hands with the enemy. Think about it, all the stuff that has been going on since (Trump) took office. People are angry. People are mad. He has divided people, that’s how it feels like.” Contributing: Tom Schad.<doc-sep>
If David Ortiz was in Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora's shoes, he'd skip a visit to the White House too. Recently asked for his thoughts on Cora skipping the team's scheduled visit with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, Big Papi sided with the Puerto Rican skipper. "Alex is in a tough spot right now, going there and acting like nothing is happening," the retired Red Sox slugger told Rob Bradford of WEEI. "It's like you are going to shake hands with the enemy. Think about it, all the stuff that has been going on since he took office. People are angry. People are mad. He has divided people, that's how it feels like." Cora said earlier this week that he didn't "feel comfortable celebrating" at the White House because of the Trump administration's handling of aid to Puerto Rico after hurricanes devastated the U.S. territory last year. Ortiz, who visited the White House three times and met two different presidents as a member of previous World Series-winning Red Sox teams, explained why he wouldn't attend the visit if he was still playing. "I don't think it's the political side of it. I think it's more of what is going on," said Ortiz, a native of the Dominican Republic. "I'm an immigrant. When it comes down to the political side of it, I don't know much about politics and things like that. But when it comes down the way immigrants have been treated, it's something that goes a long way. "You don't want to go and shake hands with a guy who is treating immigrants like (expletive) because I'm an immigrant." Along with Cora, a number of Red Sox players including Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and David Price have already confirmed they won't be visiting the White House.