WASHINGTON DC, United States (Reuters) – Members of the United States Congress took to the field for their traditional Republicans vs. Democrats baseball game on Thursday (June 15), with many wearing hats to honor Representative Steve Scalise, who was critically wounded by a gunman as his Republican team practised a day before.
When the members of the Republican team were announced at Nationals Park, the mention of Scalise’s name drew a standing ovation.
David Bailey, a Capitol Hill police officer who was part of Scalise’s security detail and helped bring down the shooter, was also injured in the Wednesday incident but had recovered enough to throw the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
Both Republican and Democratic leaders at the game encouraged a sense of unity in the wake of the shooting during an otherwise politically rancorous time in Washington when parties are sharply divided over healthcare legislation and investigations of some members of the Trump administration.
Many attendees agreed.
“Sport brings people together,” said Jason Amatucci. “It’s a wonderful way to start this process, because I think we got to the epitome of just divisiveness in this country, and I think we hit a breaking point.”
However, Jeff Hulbert said he came to the event to protest the Democrats’ criticism of Republicans.
“This unity nirvana for the next couple hours is great, but we’ve got to get back to the reality of Republican politicians — even Republican college students — not being under threat by their opponents,” said Jeff Hulbert.
President Donald Trump did not attend the match, but in a video address shown on the stadium’s giant screen, he praised the friendly nature of the game.
