President Donald Trump was met with loud, sustained boos and some cheers as he entered Madison Square Garden for the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday night in New York.
The President, who is facing down an impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats, attended with House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, New York Rep. Peter King, and his two sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
A handful of signs reading “Remove Trump” and “Impeach Trump” dotted the crowd.
In a Sunday morning tweet, the President didn’t address any negative reception he received the night before, instead writing that walking into the venue “was a little bit like walking into a Trump Rally. Plenty of MAGA & KAG present. Great energy.”
Trump received a similarly polarized greeting days earlier when he attended a World Series baseball game in Washington, DC. He was met with loud boos, cheers and ‘lock him up’ chants when he was displayed on Nationals Park’s video screen.
The negative reception wasn’t particularly surprising in predominantly liberal Washington, but it came on the same day Trump announced the US killed ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted terrorist.
This is Trump’s first trip to his home state after asserting that his Florida resort is now the President’s “predominant and principal home.”
Since taking office, he has spent 99 days at his Mar-a-Lago club compared to only 20 days spent at Trump Tower in New York City, according to CNN’s count. That makes his time spent in Florida five times more than his time spent in New York.
Outside the venue, protesters both against and in support of Trump gathered and chanted.
Sunsara Taylor, a member of an organization called Refuse Fascism, told CNN she was a part of a movement made up of “diverse political perspectives who agree that the Trump/Pence administration poses a threat to all of us. Our goal is to drive them out through mass non-violent protests.”
But Sophia Rotunno, of Staten Island, New York, told CNN she was a registered Republican and behind the President.
“I’m proud to be an American, and our President loves America and I’m here also to express our First Amendment right,” Rotunno said.
