Trump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball

3 min read
Trump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball

Trump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball

San Francisco is having a civic nervous breakdown because the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law is buying a minority stake in the Giants.

Trump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball

San Francisco is having a civic nervous breakdown because the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law is buying a minority stake in the Giants.

San Francisco is in the midst of a civic meltdown—and it's not over a bad trade or a losing streak. The culprit? Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, is buying a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants.

Let's be clear: this isn't Donald Trump. It's not Jared Kushner. It's Joshua Kushner. And he's not taking control of the team—just a small piece of ownership. But for some in the Bay Area's activist and media circles, that distinction doesn't matter.

The reaction has been swift and loud. One Giants employee filmed themselves turning in their uniform and quitting outside Oracle Park. Social media erupted with cries of "MAGA ownership" and fears that Trump-world influence was infiltrating one of San Francisco's most beloved institutions.

Here's the catch: Joshua Kushner is hardly a political firebrand. He's a longtime Democratic donor who occupies a very different political lane than his brother and the Trump orbit. But nuance? It never stood a chance.

For some, the name "Kushner" alone was enough to trigger a full-blown panic.

This is the San Francisco Giants we're talking about—not some expansion team nobody cares about. This is a franchise with eight World Series titles and a legacy that includes Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, and Bruce Bochy. Oracle Park is one of the most iconic ballparks in America. The Giants-Dodgers rivalry is the stuff of baseball legend. Generations of Northern Californians have poured their hearts into this team.

Which makes the reaction all the more telling.

Nobody was debating payroll. Nobody was analyzing the farm system. Nobody was asking whether this move helps the Giants close the gap with the Dodgers in the NL West. Instead, the conversation turned into an ideological background check.

Sports ownership used to be judged by simple questions: Is the owner competent? Are they stable? Will they spend to win? Now, it's about who donated to whom and whose family tree might cause offense.

Baseball has always been about bringing people together—rooting for the same team, sharing the same ballpark, cheering the same home runs. It's a shame that some have forgotten that.

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