WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to attend Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park on Sunday if the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros are still playing, though he did not confirm if he had been asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"I don't know. They've got to dress me up in a lot of heavy armor — I'll look too heavy," he responded when a reporter asked him about whether he would take the mound. He appeared to be making a reference to a bulletproof vest that presidents sometimes are required to wear by Secret Service when they are amid large crowds.

Trump's attendance at the 41,000-seat stadium would mark a rare time he has ventured into the District of Columbia's entertainment and nightlife scene, other than his occasional visits to the Trump hotel a few blocks from the White House. It could also mean increased security restrictions at the ballpark for what is expected to be a capacity crowd.

The Nationals lead the Astros 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday night and Game 4 on Saturday, both in Washington. The Nationals would have to lose at least one of those games for there to be a Game 5 on Sunday.

Trump made his remarks while presenting auto racing icon Roger Penske with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, in the Oval Office.

Trump could face a mixed reaction from the crowd, including the potential of boos. In 2005, then-Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the first pitch at the Nationals' first game in Washington, at RFK Stadium, and was booed at a time when there was growing public opposition to the war in Iraq.

Trump has attended at least three sporting events since taking office. He stood on the field for the national anthem at the college football national championship game in January 2018, at a time when he was publicly criticizing former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for having knelt during the anthem in protest of police tactics in minority communities. Trump left at halftime and missed the thrilling finish in Alabama's overtime victory against Georgia. He also attended the Army-Navy football game later that year in Philadelphia.

He also handed out a trophy at the President's Cup golf tournament in 2017.

Trump has thrown out a ceremonial first pitch on a few occasions before becoming president, including in 2004 when he landed in his Trump-branded private helicopter on the field for a Somerset Patriots minor league game in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey.