Ex-MLB 2x All-Star Johnny Damon reveals shocking truth about his friendship with Donald Trump amid backlash and DUI arrest

Outfielder Johnny Damon's 18 seasons of MLB excellence rendered him one of the few players to be respected - if not beloved by both Yankees and Red Sox fans. Recently, however, the ex-superstar revealed that his friendship with President-elect Donald Trump has caused some of his relationships to suffer.

Damon first became friends with the New York City businessman shortly after his trade from the Red Sox to the Yankees in 2005. After meeting through the Yankees organization, Damon and Trump hit it off, and the former MLB star has been invited several times to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate for golf outings.

"Ex-Yankee Johnny Damon comes to President Donald Trump’s defense over ‘disgusting, rat and rodent infested’ Baltimore" - njdotcom

In a recent interview with FOX News, Damon claimed that his open association and friendship with the controversial president-elect has caused some of his friendships hardship. As Damon, now 51, told the outlet:

"Unfortunately, whenever you say you're friends with Donald Trump, we have a lot of people who just can not understand that."

Although Damon retired after playing the 2012 season for the then Cleveland Indians, his closeness with Trump remained. In 2015, the former MLB slugger appeared on a season of Trump's TV show "The Apprentice", but was eventually fired by the Donald on account of a bad product jingle.

The New York Yankees icon was formerly a member of Trump's Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition and appeared with him on stage during rallies in 2016.

In 2021, Damon was arrested in Florida after registering a .30 BAC during a road stop. Subsequent body cam footage revealed that Johnny Damon had accused the officers of treating him unfairly because of his open support for Donald Trump.

Johnny Damon doubles down on Trump support

Since Trump's election victory in November, several public figures who previously condemned the president-elect are now doing what they can to get back in his good graces. For Damon, a longtime supporter of Trump, that is not a problem, as the two-time All-Star continued to divulge in his FOX interview:

"We've just been really good friends, and I'm glad that he's back in office and I'm glad we have somebody who's going to be out there, somebody who's going to answer questions, somebody who's going to do the work to make America great again"

While nobody knows what the next four years will hold, at least Johnny Damon can take solace in the fact that he has a direct relationship with the most powerful man in the world.