Biden hosts World Series champion Texas Rangers at the White House, says they 'embody resilience'

The Texas Rangers visited the White House on Thursday to celebrate their 2023 World Series victory with President Joe Biden, who noted that the team was making a triumphant return to the city where its franchise was born.

«You're back in the nation’s capital as world champions, and you deserve it,” said Biden, referencing a team that was once the Washington Senators before it moved to Texas in 1972. “I think there’s a word you all embody, resilience.”

It’s a long-standing tradition for professional and collegiate championship teams to come to the White House and be recognized by the president. The visit meant a rare public appearance by Biden since his July 21 announcement that he was dropping his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket in November.

The Rangers now play in Arlington, outside Dallas, and Biden said that city and region had grown accustomed to championships in football, basketball and hockey that left many wondering “if baseball would ever join them.”

He noted that the Rangers failed to win last year's American League West division, which “was as tough as it's ever been.” The team made the playoffs as a wild card and topped Tampa Bay and Baltimore before getting ”revenge on the Houston Astros,» Biden said, to make the World Series — which they clinched in five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks in November.

“You never gave up,” Biden said. “You kept the faith.”

The event in the East Room began with the band playing an orchestral version of “Higher,” the 1999 hit by Creed that became the 2023 Rangers' unofficial anthem. In the midst of their current season, the Rangers lost at home to the Astros on Wednesday and headed to New York after the ceremony