When President Trump arrived Saturday night at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York City, the crowd reaction was a bit more hospitable than the one he received at World Series Game 5 last Sunday in Washington.
USA Today reported that the president received “a mixed reaction” from the Madison Square Garden crowd, and Newsday of Long Island’s Mark La Monica tweeted the reception was “nothing like at Nats game.”
TRUMP TRAVELING TO NEW YORK CITY TO ATTEND UFC FIGHT ON SATURDAY: REPORT
President Donald Trump and UFC president Dana White arrive at Madison Square Garden to attend the UFC 244 mixed martial arts fights, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in New York. (Associated Press)
The president arrived in midtown Manhattan for UFC 244, with the main event featuring two American mixed-martial arts fighters, No. 3-ranked Jorge Masvidal, with a record of 34-13, against No. 7-ranked Nate Diaz, at 21-11.
The match was scheduled to get underway around 10 p.m. ET.
The president is a longtime fan of MMA and received support from Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
“State athletic commissions didn’t support us, arenas around the world refused to host our events,” White said at the time. “Nobody took us seriously. Nobody … except Donald Trump. Donald was the first guy that recognized the potential that we saw in the UFC and encouraged us to build our business.”
“Nobody took us seriously. Nobody … except Donald Trump.”
— Dana White, president, UFC
President Donald Trump waves at Madison Square Garden while attending the UFC 244 mixed martial arts fights, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in New York. (Associated Press)
Trump’s return to New York came during the same week he revealed he was changing his primary residency to Florida, claiming he’s received poor treatment from New York’s politicians and has tired of paying “millions of dollars” in taxes to the city and state.
Outside the Garden, protesters carried signs with messages including, “Headlock Him Up!,” and “Trump/Pence out now!”
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Last Sunday in Washington, the boos were clearly louder than cheers for the president at Nationals Park for Game 5 between the visiting Houston Astros and hometown Washington Nationals.
But after the Nationals won the World Series in Houston three nights later, Trump tweetd a message of congratulations to the champs, suggesting he harbored no hard feelings after the harsh welcome.
It was unclear if President Trump planned to attend Sunday morning’s running of the New York City Marathon.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman contributed to this story.
