Donald Trump Greeted by Boos Again While Attending UFC 244 in New York City

Only a few days after being booed and protested during his appearance at the World Series in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump is once again hearing the derision of the crowds. This time it falls in New York at Madison Square Garden during Trump’s appearance at UFC 244 with his sons.

The president showed up and can be seen waving at the crowd in video shared on Twitter, with it not taking long for the crowd to let Trump know how they feel. The Nation‘s Jeet Heer pointed out that while the World Series reaction was expected, the UFC crowd presents more of a surprise.

“The Ultimate Fighting Championship folks. Trump is a historically unpopular president,” Heer wrote on Twitter alongside video of the booing. “He polls at 40% but only half that strongly support him. The vast majority hate him or are defending him only out of partisan reflexiveness.”

Outside of the arena, protesters gathered in opposition to the president, whose appearance was announced. At the same time, Trump had plenty of defenders in the media with several reports noting that the reaction from the UFC crowd in MSG was nothing compared to the reception Trump received at Nats Park.

“Many cheered his arrival and waved, pulling out their phones to take photos,” USA Today reported. “Many, however, did boo his presence.”

Trump’s appearance at the World Series prompted more than just boos from the crowd. Before his arrival, the owners of the Washington Nationals made a request to not have to respond to an invitation to sit with Trump and did not want to be in the position of having to make that decision. The president was also greeted by an “Impeach Trump” banner while the crowd booed and chanted, “lock him up.”

UFC head Dana White is a noted Trump supporter and even spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016. He helped lead the president to his seat where he reportedly sat alongside House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Mark Meadows, Rep. Peter King and his sons, Don Jr. and Eric.

Trump’s appearance at the MMA event follows his decision to change his residence from New York, his lifelong residence, to Florida. It also comes before a potential visit by the Washington Nationals to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. One player who won’t be in attendance is reliever Sean Dolittle, who didn’t mince words when speaking with The Washington Post about his decision.

“There’s a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country,” Doolittle said. “At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.”