GOP paid $74,000 in one week so Trump could get booed by sports fans

The Republican National Committee spent a reported $74,000 over one week on tickets for Donald Trump and Republican members of Congress to attend two different sporting events.

Trump was booed by the public on both occasions.

The RNC told the Washington Post that it spent about $14,000 for 30 seats at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., so Trump could attend Game 5 of the World Series on Oct. 27.

When Trump was introduced at the game and appeared on the Jumbotron, he was loudly booed by the crowd. Later in the game, fans chanted “lock him up,” mimicking chants Trump himself had led at rallies while attacking former 2016 rival Hillary Clinton.

Among the members of Congress in attendance with Trump at that game were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Steve Scalise (R-LA).

A few days later on Saturday night, Trump appeared at a mixed martial arts event.

Trump’s cage-side seats for “UFC 244” at Madison Square Garden in New York City reportedly set the RNC back $60,000.

As Trump entered, he was loudly booed by those in attendance. After reports and video of the booing appeared online, his son, Donald Trump Jr., lashed out.

“I was there in the heart of NYC and it was overwhelmingly positive. An awesome response,” the younger Trump tweeted.

Trump’s allies on “Fox & Friends” also took umbrage at reports of the booing and insisted it did not happen.

According to the Washington Post, McCarthy, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Rep. Pete King (R-NY) were in attendance with Trump in New York at the time.

Trump’s reception might have been foretold by the election results in Washington and New York, where he only received 4% and 36% of the vote in 2016, respectively.

Apparently hoping for a better reception on more hospitable ground, Trump is reportedly planning to attend a college football game in Alabama over the coming weekend.

“BamaCentral has learned that the University of Alabama is making preparations for President Donald Trump to attend the LSU game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday,” Sports Illustrated reported on Monday.

Trump won 62% of the vote in Alabama in 2016 but while he remains popular there (unlike in the majority of the country), his approval has dropped 14 percentage points since he took office.

It is unclear if the RNC also plans to buy Trump seats for that event.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.