Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed (and applauded, too, but much less) Friday night as he was walking to his seat at the Broadway Richard Rodgers Theatre at a performance of the hit musical “Hamilton.”
After the show, Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr (the third Vice President of the United States), and the cast took to the stage, and Dixon told the rowdy crowd: “There’s nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen. There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love.”
Dixon then said, “Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at Hamilton: An American Musical.”
“We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir,” Dixon continued. “But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us.”
Before the election, Dixon was quoted as saying, “People talking about making America great again? America’s never been great. The greatness of America is in its pursuit of greatness. … The second we decide that American exceptionalism is the definition of patriotism, our republic fails.”
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!” He added: “The Theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”