Donald Trump has named Vince McMahon in an advisory group to help reopen the United States economy. The US president announced this week he’s putting together a group including the commissioners of the nation’s top four sports leagues and other executives.

As well as ‘the great’ WWE chairman Vince McMahon, Trump also named the likes of NBA’s Adam Silver, NFL chief Roger Goodell, MLB’s Rob Manfred and NHL boss Gary Bettman. Furthermore, he noted that UFC president Dana White is part of the team, alongside Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Speaking during a briefing on Tuesday, Trump talked about the importance of bringing sports back into everyday life after the coronavirus pandemic forced leagues to halt play. He said: ‘We have to get our sports back, I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old. ‘I haven’t actually had too much time to watch – I would say maybe I watch one batter and then I get back to work.’ The conference came after it was revealed WWE would be allowed to continue to hold live shows – without a crowd – at the Performance Center in Orlando.

Despite the state being under a stay-at-home order, the company has been deemed an ‘essential business’ and so will be able to broadcast from its training facility each week.

Speaking to the media earlier this week, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demmings said: ‘I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed an essential business. ‘With some conversation with the governor’s office regarding the governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business. And so therefore, they were allowed to remain open.’