Overview

• After golfing with Roger and Kacy Clemens, President Trump posted on Aug. 24 that Clemens should be inducted "NOW" and likened his case to Pete Rose’s.
• Clemens publicly thanked Trump for the endorsement, shared images from their round, and reiterated his denials of performance-enhancing drug use.
• Neither MLB nor the commissioner can induct players, and Clemens’ path is expected to be the Contemporary Baseball Era committee later this year for the 2026 class, where he would need 12 of 16 votes.
• Clemens peaked at 65.2% in his final BBWAA ballot year (2013–2022) and received very few votes from the 2022 era committee, with new 2025 rules potentially limiting future eligibility if he again gets fewer than five votes.
• The seven-time Cy Young winner was named in the 2007 Mitchell Report and later acquitted in 2012 of charges tied to his congressional testimony, factors that continue to shape his Hall of Fame candidacy.