Taylor Walls, the Rays’ shortstop, recently performed a Trump-inspired “Fight!” celebration after a big hit over the weekend, and he’s not shy about complimenting the former president for his literal courage under fire. During a press conference prior to the game against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Walls expressed how the president’s strength in that terrifying moment inspired him.
On Sunday, Walls hit a double at Yankee Stadium and then performed the now-iconic move initiated by the 45th president of the United States after an assassination attempt at a political rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. While speaking to reporters, Walls made it clear how the president’s resilience during that event left a lasting impression on him.
I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls shared. They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.” He continued, “To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly. Anyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it’s strong. It kind of represents character to me and something that similarly I feel like I’ve faced those challenges in baseball, but on a much-suppressed level.
Walls mentioned that he would not likely use the celebratory “Fight!” move anymore, calling the whole thing a “joke.” However, he later seemed to backtrack from downplaying the celebration. Joke may not be the right word,” Walls clarified. It was kind of just something that we had together that we thought was kind of funny, that we thought would be all right. I don’t really see that going much further than that. I don’t foresee myself doing it again.
Walls did not reveal who he was voting for in the upcoming election but shared some factors that will help him make his decision. You can read between the lines of how I carry myself, how I was raised, how me and my family coordinate, how we’re going to go about things and do things,” Walls explained. That’s kind of what I base my vote on and my view on.
It’s likely that a Biden/Harris supporter would have chosen a different form of celebration for their victory.