Will British PM Sunak throw out first pitch at Nats park on Wednesday?

2023-06-05

British PM Rishi Sunak flies into Washington this week for talks about Ukraine, economic ties and a round of baseball diplomacy: But will he throw out the first pitch at Nationals Park?

Rishi Sunak is making his first official visit as PM to Washington this week
On Wednesday evening he will be the guest of honor at Nationals Park
But hopes the 43-year-old with throw out the first pitch are waning

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives in Washington this week for talks with President Joe Biden about economic ties and support for Ukraine.

But discussion among British official for days has centered on one question: Will Sunak throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park on Wednesday evening, when he is the guest of honor at a U.S.-U.K. friendship day?

Insiders say it would be a chance to meet America literally on its own turf. But DailyMail.com has learned that Number 10 officials balked when they realized the scale of the occasion in a ballpark that can hold more than 40,000 fans.

No one wants a repeat of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s humiliating 2020 effort, which landed nowhere near home plate.

Or the time President Barack’s ‘mom jeans’ were the focus of attention when he did the honors before the 2009 All-Star Game.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is visiting Washington this week. He is known as a keen cricketer (seen her when the England cricket team visiting Number 10, Downing Street, in March) but his officials are reluctant to let him throw out the first pitch at Nats Park Wednesday

When President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch in 2009 ahead of the All-Star Game, coverage focused on whether his ‘mom jeans’ prevented him throwing a strike

Yet Sunak, 43, should have the arm for it. He was known as a decent cricketer in his day.

And at the age of 83, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is due to throw out the first pitch a day earlier on Tuesday.

If she can manage it, why not a leader four decades her junior?

‘The baseball is a chance to engage Americans on their own turf,’ said a British official familiar with discussions.

‘Throwing the pitch is a real honour in US culture and would be a historic first for a British PM.

‘Let’s see. No final decision has been taken.

‘The PM is known to be a keen cricketer and is very much up to the task. But there is also a nice American tradition of letting a community hero take the pitch on your behalf.’

The ball park event — with a military flyover by U.S. and U.K. military units, ceremonial military performances by the Royal Marine Corps of Drums and the Washington Tattoo, as well as the singing of ‘God Save the King’ alongside the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ — was scheduled months ago.

The ball park event will include a military flyover by U.S. and U.K. military units, ceremonial performances by the Royal Marine Corps of Drums and the Washington Tattoo, as well as the singing of ‘God Save the King’ alongside the ‘Star Spangled Banner’

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jrdcSO3JxSw%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US

Biden and Sunak have met frequently since the British prime minister took office, including in San Diego in March as the outlined greater cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

It was only a diary coincidence that meant Sunak could attend. He is making his first official visit to Washington since becoming prime minister in October.

His government is keen to build better relations with Washington, forging closer economic ties as London finds its new place in the world after leaving the European Union.

British officials and ministers have also quietly been trying to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine, amid fears that America First Republicans in Congress could cut off the supply of arms and ammunition.

At the same time, Sunak’s defense secretary Ben Wallace is among the possible contenders to take over as N.A.T.O. secretary general when Jens Stoltenberg steps down. Sunak will know that U.S. backing is essential to win the post, raising questions about whether the prime minister plans to use his White House visit to lobby Biden.

‘The visit will be an opportunity to build on the discussions that the prime minister and President Biden have had in recent months about enhancing the level of cooperation and coordination between the UK and U.S. on the economic challenges that will define our future,’ said Sunak’s spokesman when the trip was announced.

‘There will also be an opportunity to discuss issues including sustaining our support for Ukraine.’

But at times relations between the U.K. and Biden have been strained.

Biden and Sunak took tea together during the president’s April visit to Northern Ireland

In April, a White House official was forced to deny that Biden was ‘anti-British’ after the president spent just spent little more than half a day in the British province of Northern Ireland before he travelled south to spend more than two days in the Republic of Ireland.

Sunak offers a chance for a reset after the likes of populist Boris Johnson, who was close to Donald Trump, and the chaos of Liz Truss’s brief time in Downing Street.

In fact as a graduate of Stanford University, Sunak knows the U.S. well and appears to have got off to a good start with Biden.

The president even asked for a tour of the home the prime minister still owns in Santa Monica when they met in California in March.

This will be Sunak’s fourth meeting with Biden in as many months.

The British official said Sunak will also meet business and political leaders at Wednesday’s baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

‘Downing Street’s focus has rightly been on agreeing new economic initiatives that will deliver for Britain,’ he said. ‘But I expect some attention will turn to the first-pitch debate.’

The prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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