Donald Trump left the World Series baseball game early after ruthless fans booed and chanted ‘lock him up’.
The president was one of thousands of fans in attendance at Game 5 of the World Series yesterday, October 27, when the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros went head to head.
While fans of each team would have likely posed as enemies during the game, the crowd found a common interest when Trump’s face appeared on the ‘Jumbotron’ big screen at Nationals Park.
Check out the crowd’s response here:
The POTUS was pictured among a crowd of other Republicans, including first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
As soon as the group appeared on screen, the fans’ cheers and claps changed to a low series of boos. The Republicans appeared to ignore the response and continued to clap and wave, though it’s clear the atmosphere at the exciting game had taken a very cold turn.
The crowd didn’t stop there however, as some attendees started to chant ‘lock him up’ – a reversed reference to the ‘lock her up’ chant Trump supporters made regarding Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Some baseball fans were later seen holding signs reading ‘VETERANS FOR IMPEACHMENT’, while another banner read ‘IMPEACH TRUMP!’ according to CBS News.
While there were a few people who were more friendly towards the president, offering waves and smiles, the mostly icy reception appeared enough to encourage Trump to leave the game early.
The commander-in-chief and his family departed before the top of the eighth inning, with press pool reports noting the presidential motorcade left the ballpark at around 10.50pm, well before the game ended around 11.30pm. The car had reportedly been prepared to go for over half an hour.
After the game, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter to share his opinions on the crowd’s reaction to his father.
He wrote:
I’d wear getting booed in the swamp as a badge of honor. If you’re pissing them off you’re doing something right!
Trump reportedly denied the high-profile opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game, citing the disruption it would cause fans getting to the ballpark.
Barring Trump, every president since 1910 has thrown out a first pitch, either for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.