Donald Trump Faces Boos, Chants of 'Honor Her Wish' While Paying Respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

President Donald Trump made a rare public appearance outside of a rally atmosphere Thursday when [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

President Donald Trump made a rare public appearance outside of a rally atmosphere Thursday when he paid his respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at her casket. He was booed as he walked out of the Supreme Court, with some chanting "Vote him out" and "Honor her wish," a reference to Ginsburg's dying wish that she not be replaced until after the presidential election. Trump also wore a face mask, another rarity for the president.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stood before the coffin silently before they turned to walk back to the limousine, which took them back to the White House. Once there, Trump was seen in an animated conversation with chief of staff Mark Meadows and other aides. During Thursday's press conference, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called the crowd's response "appalling, but certainly to be expected when you're in the heart of the swamp." She added, "I travel with the President all across the country -- Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada -- and everywhere we go, the streets are lined with support like I don't think any other president has had previously."

The "honor her wish" chants were a reference to Ginsburg's last wish. Days before she died on Friday, Ginsburg told her granddaughter Clara Spera, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." The quote was included in NPR's obituary. Trump has ignored this, claiming without any evidence that it was made up by Democrats. Trump plans to announce his nominee to replace Ginsburg on Saturday.

"I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer and Pelosi," Trump told Fox & Friends earlier this week, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. "I would be more inclined to the second, OK, you know, that came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. I mean, maybe she did and maybe she didn't."

Trump rarely hears boos from a crowd, as most of his public events are campaign rallies held in front of supporters. When Trump appeared at Game 5 of the World Series in Washington last year, he was booed. "I think that was just a political chant. We could hardly hear it from where we were," Trump said in response to those boos at the time, reports CNN. "Somebody said there was some chanting. But they were right next to the media. But we could hardly hear too much. We heard a sound but it wasn't very strong."

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