Walls, who hit a double in a win over the Yankees on Sunday in The Bronx , said his fist pumps and yelling of “Fight, fight!” — much as the 45th president did after an assassination attempt at a July 13 rally — was more of a symbolic “joke” than anything.
“That was kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room,” he told reporters Tuesday before a game against the Blue Jays , according to the Associated Press. “Joke may not be the right word. It was kind of just something that we had together that we thought was kind of funny, that we thought would be all right.”
Taylor Walls appeared to mimic former President Donald Trump.
As Trump got up, with his ear bloodied, he raised his fist and yelled, “Fight, fight!”
Walls, who had recorded his first extra-base hit since June 25 with the double against Marcus Stroman, added to reporters Tuesday that his similar gesture on the field at Yankee Stadium was not politically motivated.
“It was more so the symbolism of ‘get knocked down, get back up, keep fighting, keep grinding’ and kind of just grit [and] determination,” Walls said, according to the Tampa Bay Times .
Taylor Walls hits a double during the Rays’ win over the Yankees on Sunday. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“That’s kind of more so what it was. It wasn’t necessarily directed at Trump politically. More so the inspirational side of someone [who] almost just got their life taken away from them and their first instinct was to stand up and show strength.”
Walls added that he took inspiration from Trump’s response to the near-death experience.
“I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls said Tuesday. “They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.
“To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly,” Walls added. “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.”
The Cardinals’ Alec Burleson used a similar gesture as he rounded the bases on a home run against the Braves over the weekend, raising his fist in the air and holding his left hand to his left ear.
St. Louis veteran infielder Matt Carpenter later told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that the celebration was also not meant to be political.
Taylor Walls and Richie Palacios of the Rays celebrate after their win over the Yankees on Sunday. Getty Images
“Definitely not a political statement,” Carpenter told the outlet on Sunday.
“That’s off-base here. It’s the furthest thing from a political statement and a little thing [for Burleson]. I can understand why everyone is looking for something right now. The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t involved in any kind of political statement,” he told the outlet.
As for Walls, he said he likely won’t be doing the gesture again on the field.
“I don’t really see that going much further than that. I don’t foresee myself doing it again,” he said.
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