Trump says he will pardon Pete Rose, delivers scathing statement to MLB on his Hall of Fame candidacy

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President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post late Friday night that he will "be signing a complete pardon" of MLB's all-time hit king, Pete Rose.

Rose died last year before ever seeing himself make the Hall of Fame; writers have never been given the option to vote for him, as the Baseball Writers Association of America and Hall of Fame followed suit with MLB's lifetime ban of Rose in 1989 for gambling.

"Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of fame. Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME!" Trump posted.

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Pete Rose waves to his fans during the unveiling of a bronze statue dedicated to him at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, June 17, 2017. (IMAGN)

"Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy a--, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!"

Major League Baseball itself does not control who gets into the Hall of Fame; the baseball writers vote initially, while other committees to get players in further down the road are made by the Hall itself, not