Trump Sells His DC Hotel To Yankees Star He Called A 'Druggie'

Former President Donald Trump is now selling his marquee Washington, D.C. hotel to an investment group led by an ex-New York Yankees star that he once vilified as a “druggie.”

Former New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, was revealed to be a key part of a Miami-based fund led by the CGI Merchant Group looking to purchase the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The deal, worth approximately $375 million, will give the investment management firm the rights to lease the property. The former president’s marquee hotel features 263 rooms located just a stone’s throw from the White House, people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

If the deal pushes through, it would make A-Rod the unlikely financial savior of Trump, who needs to recoup $73 million in losses from the hotel.

“If A-Rod can bail out Trump and get him out of a sticky situation and help him turn a profit, he’s going to take that deal. He’d take it from Hillary Clinton,” Michael D’Antonio, a Trump biographer, told AP.

The deal comes years after Trump called Rodriguez a “liability” to the Yankees following the player’s admission to using performance-enhancing drugs while playing against the Texas Rangers.

"Since he signed his contract, they found out that he took drugs ... He actually admitted that he took drugs. Now he's not taking drugs anymore, and without the drugs, he's a less than average player,” Trump said in the 2012 interview.

Between 2021 and 2016, the former president also tweeted derogatory remarks about the athlete, including ones that called him a “joke” and a “druggie.”

“A-Rod @Yankees had hip surgery & will be out 6 months. Do you notice all the 'druggies' have bad hips,” Trump wrote in a now-deleted December 2012 tweet, according to Yahoo News.

On many occasions, Trump also referred to A-Rod’s 2014 doping scandal that resulted in him being banned for over 160 games and the playoffs.

However, their relationship later improved, with both Trump and Rodriguez spotted together at a charity reception at the former president’s Bronx golf course in 2015. Trump had also allegedly called the Yankee's athlete for advice on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.