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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Reclaiming power from those who abuse it often starts with telling the truth. And in "This Is How Authoritarians Get Defeated," MoJo's Monika Bauerlein unpacks six truths to remember during the homestretch of an election where democracy, truth, and decency are on the line.

Truth #1: The chaos is the point.

Truth #2: Team Reality is bigger than it seems.

Truth #3: Facebook owns this.

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Please take a moment to see how all these truths add up, because what happens in the weeks and months ahead will reverberate for at least a generation and we better be prepared.

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SIX TRUTHS

Reclaiming power from those who abuse it often starts with telling the truth. And in "This Is How Authoritarians Get Defeated," MoJo's Monika Bauerlein unpacks six truths to remember during the homestretch of an election where democracy, truth, and decency are on the line.

Truth #1: The chaos is the point.

Truth #2: Team Reality is bigger than it seems.

Truth #3: Facebook owns this.

Truth #4: When we go to work, we're in the fight.

Truth #5: It's about minority rule.

Truth #6: The only thing that can save us is…us.

Please take a moment to see how all these truths add up, because what happens in the weeks and months ahead will reverberate for at least a generation and we better be prepared.

And if you think journalism like Mother Jones'—that calls it like it is, that will never acquiesce to power, that looks where others don't—can help guide us through this historic, high-stakes moment, and you're able to right now, please help us reach our $350,000 goal by October 31 with a donation today. It's all hands on deck for democracy.

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