“Try to Get in There a Little Bit Early”: 2024 WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones Discusses Liberty’s Plans for White House Visit

The White House has already started the transition process that would see the Donald Trump-JD Vance administration in the Oval Office by January 2025. But before Trump and his cabinet assume the responsibility of the Presidency, the Biden administration is keen on getting some things done urgently before the transition takes place. 2024 WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones wants the 2024 WNBA Champions, the New York Liberty’s visit to the White House to be among those things.

Jones didn’t make any attempts to hide her aversion to a Trump White House during her interview on WNBA analyst Khristina Williams’s In Case You Missed It podcast. Williams pointed out that the Boston Celtics visited the Biden White House to celebrate their NBA Championship win before the Presidential elections. She asked Jones if the Liberty have had any discussions on the prospect of visiting the White House to celebrate their Championship win, now that President Trump has been elected into office.

“Yeah, I think there have been some discussions for sure about us try to get in there a little bit early. And just try and get in with the current administration obviously,” Jones told Williams.

“But I don’t know what they’re gonna do after the new administration comes in. But I won’t be going. I don’t know what they’re gonna do but JJ won’t be there if that’s the case,” she added.

The WNBA Champions usually visit the White House during the summer, months after the conclusion of the Finals, which usually takes place in the month of October. Notably, the Las Vegas Aces made their visit in May of this year after winning the Championship in October 2023.

Other teams have visited during the month of July through August in different editions of the competition. But it would be something unprecedented if the Biden administration decide to invite the Liberty side early to commemorate their Championship win.

The Trump administration didn’t invite any WNBA Champion teams to the White House during its tenure from 2017 to 2021. It did invite the 2017 NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, to visit the President’s abode but President Trump rescinded the offer after multiple players publicly declared their decision to decline the invitation.

Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to visit the White House after 2016

The 2021 NBA Champions became the first team to click pictures with the President after the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Biden-Harris administration’s invitation was accepted warmly by the Bucks team.

Many NBA players have openly vouched their support for the Harris-Walz campaign this election cycle. So it’s very likely that the incoming Trump Presidency might not host any NBA Championship-winning teams as well.

However, NHL and NFL sides like New England Patriots and Houston Astros have attended the celebrations at the Trump White House in the past.