White House visit

Burkle’s politics are decidedly progressive, and he has long been a donor to Democratic candidates.

He makes no attempt to hide his leanings, even when it alienates customers of some of his businesses, as happened with a grocerystore chain in the West.

“I do a lot of fundraising,” he said. “People would cut Ralph’s [loyalty] cards up … if I had a fundraiser for a candidate they didn’t like.

“And they can do that. That’s why you shouldn’t mix politics and business. I didn’t mix it, but to the extent that people pay attention, that was the situation.”

Burkle has known President Trump for years, but shares few, if any, policy positions with him.

Nonetheless, he confirmed that he will not hesitate to accompany the Penguins to the White House, assuming they are invited in recognition of their latest championship.

“I think it’s a tradition that should be honored, first and foremost,” Burkle said. “There’s a lot of emotion around the president. There’s a lot of negativity, and there’s a lot of passion. But it is the president, it is the White House.

“If you want to protest, you can protest. If you want to be unhappy, you can be unhappy. If you want to voice your opinion, you can voice your opinion. But I, personally, don’t think this is the stage to do it on.

“It’s an honor to go there. It’s a moment a lot of people won’t ever get again. I hope we win again, but you don’t take it for granted that you get to go to the White House. … Every time I go there, it’s an amazing thing. I don’t think that who the occupant is should determine whether the team goes to the White House.”

If and when he returns to the White House, it won’t be the first time Burkle has toured a Donald Trump residence.

It happened in 1999, as well, when Burkle, an architecture enthusiast, arrived in Florida for his meeting with Lemieux a few hours ahead of schedule and decided to use the time to tour a celebrated piece of property in Palm Beach.

“I love houses, and I called up Trump and I said, ‘ Can I go through Mar-a-Lago?’ ” Burkle said. “He said, ‘Yeah, go ahead. I’ll have them walk you around and feed you lunch.’

“So, it was funny. The beginning of the Penguins story, in a way, started that day with Trump and Mar-a-Lago.”