Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by the audience and then lectured by the cast at Friday night’s performance of Hamilton, drawing acclaim from many parts of the internet.
But not everybody was pleased with the reception Pence received. Take, for instance, Donald Trump.
On Saturday morning, Trump woke up, presumably learned about the Hamilton cast explaining to Pence why they were scared about a Trump presidency, and then fired up his Twitter account.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
Here was what Trump was protesting. Following the performance, Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in the show, delivered a passionate speech about how he wants the next administration to think about every citizen in this country.
Tonight, VP-Elect Mike Pence attended #HamiltonBway. After the show, @BrandonVDixon delivered the following statement on behalf of the show. pic.twitter.com/Jsg9Q1pMZs
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) November 19, 2016
And after reading Trump’s tweets, Dixon himself took to Twitter to offer a response.
conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.
— Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) November 19, 2016
But after news broke late Friday night about the post-show conversation-starter—and particularly after Trump weighed in Saturday morning— Twitter was alive with commentary. Here were some of the best tweets we found, including this one from the man who originated the role of George Washington in Hamilton.
The countless Americans that have been Insulted, Degraded, Marginalized, Harassed, Intimidated. APOLOGIZE for that! APOLOGIZE for your HATE!
— Christopher Jackson (@ChrisisSingin) November 19, 2016
Proud of @HamiltonMusical. Proud of @BrandonVDixon, for leading with love.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 19, 2016
And proud to remind you that ALL are welcome at the theater.
Trump: Pro safe spaces. https://t.co/9ExncemnZ4
— Bobby Blanchard 🌈 (@bobbycblanchard) November 19, 2016
“He only got booed, man.” – Abe Lincoln https://t.co/Q5XWBk0INn
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) November 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/emmaroller/status/799974195362938880
Mike Pence saw Hamilton tonight, which means he saw the amazing talent of an HIV+ gay Latino man. Hopefully he learned something.
— 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚙𝚒𝚡𝚒𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 🍉 (@mathewrodriguez) November 19, 2016
Did we really just elect an oversensitive little baby who can’t handle a few Broadway queens making a speech? How is he gonna handle war?
— Mary Emily O’Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) November 19, 2016
Everyone mentions the booing of Pence at “Hamilton.” No one mentioned Pence’s epic 20-minute rap battle with @Lin_Manuel afterwards.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) November 19, 2016
Remember that time a Republican shouted YOU LIED at POTUS when he was attending the show The State of the Union & POTUS was *shrug*
— John DeVore (@JohnDeVore) November 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/bogcommenter/status/799987690506686464
Not everybody was cheering on Dixon and the rest of the cast.
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/799998765767790593
The arrogance and hostility of the Hamilton cast to the Vice President elect ( a guest at the theater) is a reminder the left still fights.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) November 19, 2016
Eventually, two competing hashtags popped up on Twitter. The first: #NameAPenceMusical.
https://twitter.com/jenniferweiner/status/799979421897818112
https://twitter.com/JillBidenVeep/status/799987900603568128
Deporting Miss Saigon #NameAPenceMusical
— Eric (@eaglelam89) November 19, 2016
The Sound of Whining #NameAPenceMusical
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) November 19, 2016
“The hills are alive with the sound of whining. In tweet after tweet…” 🎵 https://t.co/8DIJKx98Ok
#NameAPenceMusical
— 🇺🇸🌸Pink Lady 4 Trump🌸🇺🇸 (@pink_lady56) November 19, 2016
The Color Red pic.twitter.com/u2x3RwrsGF
The second: #boycotthamilton (though many of these tweets actually supported Dixon’s speech).
https://twitter.com/SwampBabe813/status/800007306620665856
If you already bought tickets just go to the show and shout out UR political PRO TRUMP views. Liberals say it’s free speech #BoycottHamilton
— PoliticalJunkie (@garaffon) November 19, 2016
And, of course, there was also at least one generous offer to those who would give up their Hamilton tickets to protest.
https://twitter.com/Notorious_Vimp/status/800007819521126402
