The news that Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by the audience at a performance of Hamilton in New York City has created a whirlwind of reactions online, including from the President-elect himself, Donald Trump. Though reports say Pence was actually booed by the audience, Trump claims Pence was “harassed” by the show’s cast.
While cast member Brandon Victor Dixon did deliver an emotional speech to the vice president-elect after the curtain call that urged him to “work on behalf of us,” the Associated Pressreports Pence had already left and missed the entire speech. Trump also said that the theater should “always be a safe and special place”—though he has yet to condemn the hate crimes that have sprung up across the nation in the wake of his election.
Twitter was quick to point out the hypocrisy.
Yet Trump was not the only one to condemn the jeers of the audience. New York Times writer David Itzkoff said he was bummed out by the booing, which he argued might discourage Pence from engaging with the message of the show. However, his comment was met with backlash, as people pointed out seeing a Broadway play doesn’t make up for the politician’s history of anti-gay, anti-choice law making.
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda echoed Itzkoff’s sentiment, though, and said he believes all are welcome at the theater.
Nevertheless, Trump supporters have begun sharing a boycott of Hamilton to show their disapproval of how Pence was treated at the show.
Of course, though, boycotting Hamilton will likely be the least effective boycott of all time for one simple reason:
Despite being raked over the coals on Twitter for his earlier tirade over Mike Pence’s now infamous Hamilton visit, Donald Trump couldn’t help himself, and posted one final incendiary tweet about the fiasco. “Very rude and insulting of Hamilton cast member to treat our great future V.P. Mike Pence to a theatre lecture. Couldn’t even memorize his lines!” He wrote.
Trump eventually deleted the tweet, a sentence we never thought we would write about a President-elect. Social media erupted appropriately, hopefully teaching Trump a valuable lesson about how the internet works. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
