The Rays' Taylor Walls breaks down why he did a Donald Trump tribute on base after assassination attempt

The St. Louis Cardinals have denied that their recent on-base celebrations were a tribute to Donald Trump after he was nearly assassinated.

But Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls owned his on-base celebration, in which he pumped his fist twice and said “Fight! Fight!” just like Trump did after shots rang out nearly two weeks ago.

“I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” he said on Tuesday, per the Associated Press. “They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.”

Here’s more:

“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.”

He did add that he probably won’t do it again.

Taylor Walls did the Trump "Fight! Fight!" after this double pic.twitter.com/8K5ovTEIQh

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 21, 2024