Trump Booed at Kennedy Center — Then Whoops and Cheers Drown Out Jeers

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were booed and jeered as they emerged into the presidential box at the contentiously-renamed Trump-Kennedy Center — but whoops and cheers swelled into an ovation.

Trump’s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center last year prompted backlash that included the jeering of Vice President JD Vance and his family at a performance in March, protests and boycotts by artists, and a similar battle of the boos at a Les Mis performance.

The Trumps attended the opening of Chicago on Tuesday night, which the first lady celebrated by posting a slo-mo clip of her approach to the presidential limo as she departed the White House.

While a battle emerged on social media over the First Couple’s entrance, a pool report from Reagan Reese of the conservative Daily Caller acknowledged the boos:

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 7:35 PM

Subject: In town pool report #13: POTUS enters theater

The president entered the theater at 7:31 PM. He is sitting in the balcony with the First Lady. The pool was on ground level.

The president got a loud standing ovation. There were some boos, but they were quickly drowned out by more of the crowd cheering and getting louder.

The pool was ushered out about a minute after the president entered.

Reagan Reese
White House Correspondent | Daily Caller

The tale of the tape is more of a Rorschach test, as several clips of the entrance circulated on social media and users offered their own takes on the reaction.

Resistance influencers like “Patriot Takes” posted a viral clip of “Trump getting booed at the Kennedy Center tonight” that featured clear boos mixed with loud wh0ops and cheering.

Reese posted the same clip with the caption “President Trump enters the Kennedy Center to loud cheers. Some boos, but the crowd drowned them out with more cheers. He’s here to see the premiere of Chicago.”

Fox News posted a shorter clip with the caption “RAZZLE DAZZLE: President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave as they attend the opening night of ‘Chicago’ at the Trump-Kennedy Center.”

The boos were also audible in the clip posted by the official Trump “Rapid Response 47” account. But another clip taken from a different vantage featured much louder and clearer jeers.

Watch above via White House press pool, Instagram, and X/Twitter.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!