President Donald Trump has shared a 37-year-old letter from a legendary former owner of the New York Yankees encouraging him to run for the White House.
The letter, which Trump shared Sunday afternoon, was penned by the late Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner III, who owned the team from 1973 until he died in 2010. Under Steinbrenner, the Yankees earned seven World Series wins and 11 American League pennants.
Steinbrenner, who was nicknamed “The Boss,” was also a prominent New York celebrity. He was often satirized on the long-running TV series Seinfeld, with comedy legend Larry David voicing his character (who was always seen with his back to the camera).
The brief letter was typed on New York Yankees letterhead and dated February 23, 1989. Steinbrenner praised Trump’s recent appearance on The Morton Downey Jr. Show, calling him “tremendous.”
“Dear Donald: Saw you on Morton Downey the other night. He is a friend, and I watch his show regularly,” he wrote.
“You were great! You tell it like it is. It is like I said to Stephen, you should run for President some day and get the whole damn thing straightened out. You were tremendous on the show,” he continued.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the president had decided to share the nearly 37-year-old letter on Sunday afternoon.
Trump appeared on Morton Downey Jr.’s talk show in 1989 to discuss foreign policy and the press, according to The American Conservative. When asked if he resents the negative press he’s received, Trump replied: “I think I used to resent it, I'm not sure I do anymore.”
“They take a shot at you in the newspaper, some reporter doesn’t like something for his own personal reason, so they take a shot. I find now —10 years ago I used to say, ‘Boy how could they do that, it’s wrong, it’s unfair.’ I find now that it really doesn’t matter,” Trump told Downey.
While Downey’s show only aired from 1987 to 1989, he quickly skyrocketed to fame as a pioneer of the so-called “Trash TV” genre. Downey was dubbed “Mort the Mouth” and became a “bullying cult figure” who often championed right-wing causes, The New York Times wrote in an obituary.
Some have even argued Downey’s show paved the way for modern conservative media personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, the Associated Press reports. Downey died in 2001 following a battle with lung cancer.
