Trump Booed at Kennedy Center as MAGA Fans Chant And Cheer

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were met with boos at the Kennedy Center despite a largely MAGA-friendly crowd that fought to drown out jeers with cheers and chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

Trump’s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center has prompted backlash that has included the jeering of Vance and his family at a performance in March, protests from artists, and a boycott by at least 10 Les Mis cast members for the performance that Trump and the first lady attended Wednesday night.

But despite those pressures, CNN reported that the crowd was expected to be Trump-friendly, with  CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter predicting “we’re not going to be hearing boos tonight” and that the show would be “a rousing celebration of Trump, as well as the Kennedy Center.”

According to videos posted to social media by figures like Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason and others, we did in fact hear boos Wednesday night — a lot of them.

In the longest of these clips, clapping and cheers are punctuated by attendees screaming “No!” and “Boo!” before the cheers turn to chants of “USA! USA! USA! USA!”

As the cheers peter out after a few seconds, a smattering of indistinct shouting can be heard, along with one male attendee who yells, “We love Trump!”

For his part, Trump appears unfazed by the boos, and can be seen reveling to the chants, pumping his fists and chanting along from the balcony.

Many social media users also posted clips of a group of drag queens arriving at the Kennedy Center before Trump’s entrance, contrasting the welcome they received with Trump’s.

The president also spoke with reporters for about 10 minutes before his entrance, including an exchange with Fox News correspondent Gillian Turner in which he expressed disbelief at the extent of protests against his immigration raids across the country:

TURNER: Mr. President, if this turns into another summer of unrest, what are you prepared to do, sir?

TRUMP: About what?

TURNER: If this turns– well, the protests have spread now to 16 cities across the U.S. If this turns–

TRUMP: Well, that’s what you’re saying. Do I believe you? I don’t think so.

TURNER: Well, I got that from the Fox News brain room.

TRUMP: I can tell you, what we have, what we have a situation in Los Angeles that was caused by gross incompetence. They didn’t have the police to handle it.

Watch above via X/Twitter.