Vice President-elect Mike Pence will never look at dinner and a show the same again.
On Friday, he attended the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical “Hamilton” as the Trump administration continues to move through their difficult transition into the White House.
But you don’t get to be Pence –who is known for questionable rhetoric and decision-making that negatively affects minority groups — and attend a diversely cast show about the Founding Fathers without consequence.
It started with Pence trying to take his seat amid a wave of boos and a few cheers from the crowd, but the cast took it a step further when they asked Pence to stay and listen to something they had to stay once the show was done. Cast member Brandon Victor Dixon — who plays Aaron Burr — then delivered the following remarks, as the cast linked arms behind him:
“Vice-president elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us at Hamilton: An American Musical. We really do.
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We, sir, 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.
But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us.
We truly thank you for sharing this show — this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men, women of different colors, creeds, and orientations.”
Trump took to his twitter upon hearing about the incident to scold the cast.
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
#BoycottHamilton began trending on social media shortly after video of the moment hit the Internet.
Obviously the cast’s plea for understanding fell on deaf ears, but we hope at least a little something that they said sunk in.
We hope their form of protest, and pleas for understanding, have been well heard by the VP-elect and the Trump administration as a whole.
