November 3, 2019

Trump Is in Denial About Getting Booed Again, This Time at a UFC Fight

Also not accepting reality? Fox & Friends.

Evan Vucci/AP

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Depending on where you were standing in Madison Square Garden last night when President Donald Trump walked in for a UFC fight, you might have heard overwhelming boos from the crowd around you. Or a smattering of cheers and applause. Or just blasting music from overhead.

However, following the deeply satisfying videos of the boos that greeted Trump’s appearance at Game 5 of the World Series last Sunday—and the wall–to–wall media coverage, including our own—determining the precise mix of boos versus cheers in the crowd is now a high-stakes feat of political analysis, and the verdicts following Trump’s UFC appearance are mixed.

Here are some videos that you can judge for yourself:

The president, for his part, has decided that entering the Garden was a “little bit like walking into a Trump rally,” he tweeted. “Great energy,” he added.

And, accordingly, the Fox News spin machine whirred to life this morning to guard the ego of their number-one viewer. “The president got a big reception,” Fox & Friends cohost Pete Hegseth put it. “This is a crowd that appreciates the brawler style of a brawler president.”

“There are some media outlets saying they heard mostly boos,” cohost Ed Henry chimed in. “This has become so juvenile. If you actually listen to the video and the audio, there clearly were a ton of cheers.”

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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