Donald Trump Gets Cheers, Smattering Of Boos At Alabama-LSU Game
Donald Trump was greeted mostly warmly, but for a smattering of boos, at Saturday’s Alabama-LSU college football game, Mother Jones reports.
After getting roundly booed at two previous visits to sporting events, all eyes were on the crowd at Tuscaloosa, where the 45th president was expected to attend and where there was rampant speculation as to whether or not he would be booed again.
For the most part, that didn’t happen. Fans in attendance posted videos on social media showing the crowd warmly cheering Trump and shouting “USA! USA!,” although behind the cheers, a smattering of boos could be heard.
That’s a far cry from the reception he’d gotten at the previous two sporting events he’d attended.
Back in October, Trump attended Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park in Washington, at which he was roundly booed, although a few cheers could be heard beneath the boos. Days later, he attended a UFC event at Madison Square Garden, where the boos were even more fervent, and which appear to have outnumbered the cheers by a considerable margin, depending on who you ask.
However, in Alabama, Trump found a mostly-welcoming reception. Mother Jones writer Russ Chomas speculates that it may have had to do with the fact that Trump has fervent support in the South, which leans decidedly conservative.
Roaring cheers, chants of “USA,” some booing and crowd shakes their red-and-white pom-poms as the Trumps are introduced at the Bama-LSU game pic.twitter.com/JvIY54l6Jx
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) November 9, 2019
In the days leading up to Saturday’s game, described by The Sporting News as “The Game of the Century,” the University of Alabama’s Student Government Association (SGA) had warned would-be game attendees that “disrespectful” behavior would cause them to lose their preferred seating. This led to speculation in the media that the SGA was obliquely hinting that booing Trump would not be allowed. However, the SGA later clarified that they were referring to more serious disruptions, such as fighting.
That’s not to say that Trump’s reception in Tuscaloosa was entirely warm, however. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, two University of Alabama alums raised $4,000 to purchase a replica of the “Baby Trump” blimp, a facsimile of the one that appeared at anti-Trump protests in London. The blimp was displayed before the game.
Hello from Monnish Park in Tuscaloosa pic.twitter.com/VjwbimHFOG
— Ñic Gulas (@Nic_Gulas) November 9, 2019
Vendors also sold anti-Trump and pro-Trump pins before the game, and it was reported that one group of attendees, seated in the front row, planned to wear shirts bearing single letters that spelled out “IMPEACH.”
On the field, the crowd had plenty not to be happy about, as by halftime rivals LSU had taken out a commanding lead against the home team.
