Covid 19 coronavirus: Donald Trump reportedly called former baseballer Alex Rodriguez for pandemic advice

United States President Donald Trump reportedly called former baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez for advice regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

As of Saturday evening, there are over 104,000 positive cases of Covid-19 in the United States, the global tally approaching 600,000 – the US currently has a higher prevalence of the coronavirus than Italy and China.

Cases in New York City alone rose to 26,697 on Saturday, the famous city's death toll reaching 450 this week.

The White House has frantically been assessing how to best deal with this unprecedented global health crisis, and amid the countless meetings and phone calls, Trump allegedly dialled a New York Yankees legend's number for help.

Sources told ABC reporters John Santucci and Katherine Faulders Trump phoned Rodriguez for his thoughts on the country's response to Covid-19.

"During marathon day of meetings earlier this week, President Trump continued outreach across the country regarding coronavirus and phoned former Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez," Santucci tweeted on Saturday.

"Multiple sources tell ABC, the President spoke to ARod from the Oval Office.

"Trump was seeking thoughts from ARod about the coronavirus response. Sources say there was no discussion of ARod or his fiance Jennifer Lopez taking on any official effort."

Noted epidemiologist Alex Rodriguez. https://t.co/DeRbLTJuuA

— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) March 28, 2020

You were meant for this, Alex Rodriguez.

Dude has got it made.

He’s married to a gorgeous Jennifer Lopez.

He’s giving advice to the President about a pandemic.

He’s got a nice analyst job.

Winning.

— Dan Buffa (@buffa82) March 28, 2020

Trump is a self-proclaimed Yankees fan, but didn't shy away from criticising Rodriguez during the latter stages of his career. In December 2012, The Apprentice host tweeted, "Alex Rodriguez has played under 140 games in each of the last five seasons. He will miss half of next season. Really bad deal for Yankees".

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2013, Trump called 14-time Major League Baseball All-Star a "bad guy". He also once referred to Rodriguez as a "druggie", labelling him "the biggest sports embarrassment of all time".

Rodriguez was a World Series champion with the Yankees in 2009 and got engaged to superstar Jennifer Lopez in March 2019. He hit 696 home runs during his 22-year MLB career, which places him at 4th on the all-time list, narrowly behind the legendary Babe Ruth.

Since retiring from professional baseball in 2016, Rodriguez has developed into a well-known media personality, working as a sports broadcaster, reality television host and Shark Tank cast member.

NeedToKnow3

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website