NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump attended the New York Yankees 9-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night, drawing a mixed reaction from a raucous crowd while marking the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Authorities installed security glass for the president outside the upper level box suite belonging to the Steinbrenner family, which owns the Yankees, on the third base side over the Tigers dugout at Yankee Stadium.
Wearing a suit and tie, Trump sat next to Yankees team president Randy Levine and chatted with him throughout the game, though he sat by himself at other times. During the national anthem, the president was shown on the stadium jumbotron and received boos from some in the crowd, cheers from others.
When Judge hit a home run in the bottom of the first, Trump stood and applauded, as did members of an entourage that included Attorney General Pam Bondi and Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman who is now head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In the second inning, Trump’s attendance was announced and he was shown on the big screen for an extended period while 鈥淗ail to the Chief鈥 played. He smiled and pumped his fist. Boos were heard at first, but many in the crowd eventually cheered.
A presidential visit always prompts extra security at sporting events, but things were heightened after conservative activist and close Trump ally in Utah on Wednesday. When Trump attended the Sept. 11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon earlier Thursday, authorities moved the ceremony inside as an added precaution.
Trump鈥檚 attendance recalled President George W. Bush鈥檚 ceremonial first pitch 24 years earlier as the Yankees played the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series 鈥 a moment that came to symbolize national resilience after the attacks mere weeks earlier.
Later in Thursday’s game, when 鈥淵MCA鈥 was played, Trump spelled out the letters with his arms but stayed seated.
The president left shortly after the seventh-inning stretch, which featured the singing of 鈥淕od Bless America,鈥 as it traditionally does at Yankees games on Sept. 11, in addition to 鈥淭ake Me Out to the Ballgame.鈥 Trump was shown on the big screen three times in quick succession and the announcer said, 鈥淲elcome back, New York’s own, the 45th and 47th President鈥 and thanked Trump.
Among the announced crowd in the Bronx of nearly 41,000, that prompted cheers of 鈥淯SA! USA!鈥 and some chants of Trump’s last name as he stood, grinned and pumped his fist in a downward motion. There were also some in the crowd who booed, and they got louder each time Trump was shown.
Before the game started, Trump stopped by the Yankee clubhouse. He shook hands with the players and team staff members and talked about being close for years with late, longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. He noted of his past attending games with Steinbrenner, 鈥淲e won every time I came.鈥
鈥淵ou think that was easy sitting with him for a game? It wasn鈥檛. It was brutal. But he won, and you鈥檙e going to win,鈥 the president said.
Captain Aaron Judge called meeting Trump 鈥渁 surreal moment,鈥 and something that inspired him and his teammates.
鈥淲e put on a show,鈥 said Judge, who hit two home runs for fourth in Yankees history. 鈥淗e came in here, and he told us we were going to win, so I think that gave everybody the confidence in this room to go out there and do it. I guess we鈥檝e got to have him around more often.鈥
Just before Trump walked in to deliver that message, relief pitcher Fernando Cruz was the last player in a towel. His teammates urged him to quickly get dressed.
Manager Aaron Boone announced prior to Trump’s arrival that Yankees shortstop with a partial labrum tear in his left shoulder. As he greeted him, Trump patted Volpe softly on the shoulder.
With Trump on hand, all stadium entrances featured metal detectors and Secret Service agents, some with sniffer dogs, while New York Police Department helicopters thundered overhead.
Authorities opened the gates three hours before the first pitch, and long lines began forming even before that, though most of the crowd moved into the stadium smoothly. The Yankees said ticketholders were 鈥渟trongly urged to arrive as early as possible.鈥 The Secret Service also asked fans to consider leaving their bags at home.
Faster-moving lines were a departure from Trump’s appearance at the U.S. Open men’s final in Queens last weekend. That sparked long enough that some fans didn鈥檛 make it to their seats until more than an hour into the match, despite organizers delaying its start by 30 minutes.
The Yankees game is Trump鈥檚 eighth major sporting event since returning to the White House in January. He attended in New Orleans, the , and , the , the FIFA Club in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and last weekend’s U.S. Open match.
The Yankee Stadium scoreboard featured a large Major League Baseball logo over an American flag and a red, white and blue ribbon under the inscription 鈥淪eptember 11, 2001, We Shall Not Forget.鈥
The large American flag behind the left field bleachers, and the smaller flags for each of baseball鈥檚 30 teams that ring the stadium’s upper level, were lowered to half-staff after Trump issued an executive order honoring Kirk.
Trump was born in the New York borough of Queens and, though he’s lived in Florida in recent years, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president 鈥渞emains a New Yorker at heart.鈥 Still, Trump’s appearances at baseball games haven’t always been welcomed by fans.
During his first term in 2019, Trump tried to make a low-profile appearance as the Washington Nationals hosted the Houston Astros in the World Series, but was when shown on the stadium’s big screen. There were even chants of 鈥淟ock him up!鈥
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Associated Press writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.
