Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera on Wednesday defended his support for President Donald Trump, after an editorial on Sunday accused the former New York Yankees great of having "served at the pleasure of a racist president."

Appearing on Fox News, Rivera emphasized his Christian faith and his solidarity with President Trump on issues such as the state of Israel.

"He was a friend of mine before he became president," Rivera said on "Fox & Friends." "So, because he's president I will turn my back on him? No. I respect him.

"I respect what he does and I believe he's doing the best for the United States of America."

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Rivera's comments came in response to a lengthy opinion piece the Daily Beast posted Sunday — the same day Rivera was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The author, Robert Silverman, also claimed Rivera has "taken part in thinly veiled propaganda on behalf of a far-right government in Israel, and gotten chummy with outright bigots and apocalyptic loons."

When questioned by the program's hosts, Rivera responded: "When it comes to Israel, as a Christian, if my Savior Jesus Christ, he's a Jew, so how am I going to turn my back and say, 'Oh, I won't support Israel.' "

Baseball's all-time saves leader and 13-time All-Star is co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. He has also served on the president's Opioid Drug Abuse Commission, which Trump noted in a congratulatory tweet in January.

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