President Donald Trump has shared a 37-year-old letter from the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, in which “The Boss” encouraged him to run for the White House. The letter, posted by Trump on Sunday, is typed on Yankees letterhead and dated 23 February 1989.
In the brief note, Steinbrenner praised Trump’s recent appearance on The Morton Downey Jr. Show, writing: “You were great! You tell it like it is. ... You should run for President some day and get the whole damn thing straightened out. You were tremendous on the show.” Steinbrenner, who owned the Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010, led the team to seven World Series titles.
Trump appeared on Downey’s short-lived talk show in 1989 to discuss foreign policy and the press. He told Downey: “They take a shot at you in the newspaper ... I find now that it really doesn’t matter.” Downey, dubbed “Mort the Mouth,” was a pioneer of “Trash TV” and a bullying right-wing figure, whose show is credited with paving the way for modern conservative media personalities.
It remains unclear why the president chose to share the nearly four-decade-old letter at this time. The letter was written during a period when Trump was already a prominent New York real estate developer and media figure.
