There are three ways he could react to being jeered last night at the World Series. One, of course, is to ignore it. Do nothing. That’s what he’s done so far, as I write this at 10:50 a.m. ET.
But no one thinks that’s going to last. Not with the media taunting him this morning about how he was received.
Two is to laugh it off. Who cares? Politics is what it is, man.
Imagine if Trump just said “baseball fans boo sometimes and cheer other times. Step into the arena, you can expect some jeers! Great time at the ballpark!”
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) October 28, 2019
Three is to overreact by anxiously trying to spin something so trivial. He could deny that there was much booing — “fake boos!”, as Jeryl Bier jokes. Then we’ll have a full day — or a full week — of the media trying to prove that he’s lying. It’ll be the Alabama hurricane fiasco all over again.
Or he’ll remind everyone of the crowd’s partisan leanings. “Washington is a Democratic city!” Which is true, of course.
WATCH: President Trump met with loud boos as he is introduced at the World Series in Nationals Park on Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/4RTW8ZqxqP
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 28, 2019
President Trump was booed loudly by the fans at Nats Park when he was shown on the big screen.
Then came a loud chant: “Lock him up.” @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/LBbgSAHd6k— Adam Longo (@adamlongoTV) October 28, 2019
Look how Trump’s face changes when he realizes an entire stadium is booing him pic.twitter.com/E46rzbzmbl
— Arlen Parsa (@arlenparsa) October 28, 2019
The overlap between MAGA Nation and the sort of people who can afford a ticket to a World Series game in Washington D.C. is small, and Trump knew it going in. Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball, said that POTUS declined to throw out the first pitch “in order to make the fan experience as positive as possible.” I’m surprised he’d put himself in a position where something like this was apt to happen, given his sensitivity to the idea that he’s unpopular.
Maybe he thought the success of the al-Baghdadi raid would turn the crowd in his favor, if only for one night.
My recommendation: Since virtually all Nats fans are lobbyists, journalists, lawyers, or politicians/staffers, he should treat their contempt as a badge of honor. “Nats fans are swampy trash!” he might tweet. And he would be right.
Or, if he wants to really sting them, he could point out that the team dropped all three of its home games in the Series and say that they’re a bunch of “lightweight chockers.”
Because even the silliest nothings, like a politician being booed at a game, are now take-fodder in the era of 24/7 content, the chatterati (mostly on the left) are embroiled in a serious debate this morning about the propriety of what happened. Progressives see nothing sinful about hooting at a man whom they regard as a sleaze and a criminal; centrist establishmentarians like Joe Scarborough and Chris Coons, as you’ll see below, are either chagrined to see the office being disrespected or mortified that chanting about locking up a political opponent is now firmly bipartisan. It’s gonna be a long news day.
So let’s see if I’ve got this straight: When crowds chant “Lock her up” toward Hillary, it is illiberal and anti-American.
(I agree). But when crowds chant the same toward Trump,
it is suddenly a fulsome exercise of sacred First Amendment rights. What hypocritical clowns.— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 28, 2019
"We are Americans and we do not do that. We do not want the world hearing us chant 'Lock him up' to this president or to any president." — @JoeNBC pic.twitter.com/9IgMCETBdn
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) October 28, 2019
JUST NOW: Dem Sen @ChrisCoons not happy with the "Lock him up " chants at World Series last night.
"Frankly think the office of the president deserves respect, even when the actions of our president at times don't. "@NewDay pic.twitter.com/OJwZfv9Vp8
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) October 28, 2019
Join the conversation as a VIP Member