Alex Cora Reconsidering Visiting Donald Trump, White House with Red Sox

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is having second thoughts about making the traditional visit to the White House reserved for the World Series champions.

"We'll see what happens," Cora said prior to an event for the Baseball Writers' Association of America's Boston chapter, per Steve Gardner of USA Today. "There's a lot of stuff going on right now as far as the government and the shutdown and all that. If I go, I'll represent Puerto Rico the right way."

Cora is a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico. The city wasn't spared during Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Puerto Rico during the fall of 2017. The Puerto Rican government raised its official death toll to 2,975 people last August.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the administration of President Donald Trump as a whole have received criticism for how they provided assistance to Puerto Rico.

More recently, NBC News' Courtney Kube and Julia Ainsley reported Trump was officially briefed on a plan that would divert $13.9 billion in funding to help build a wall on the United States' southern border:

"The money was set aside to fund projects all over the country including storm-damaged areas of Puerto Rico through fiscal year 2020, but the checks have not been written yet and, under an emergency declaration, the president could take the money from these civil works projects and use it to build the border wall, said officials familiar with the briefing and two congressional sources." 

The Red Sox first announced in December they planned on visiting Trump at the White House, and Cora discussed his mindset toward the trip.

"I'm gonna use my platform the right way," he told reporters. "I'm not gonna embarrass anybody. Actually, I'm gonna represent 4 million people from back home the right way when we go there."

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy confirmed Tuesday the Red Sox will travel to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, per the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham. Abraham added that "several" undisclosed players have already indicated they won't travel for the event.