President Donald Trump attended the New York Yankees game on Thursday night, drawing a mixed reaction while marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, after honouring the memories of the victims at the Pentagon earlier in the day. Authorities installed security glass outside an upper level suite on the third base side, over the visiting Detroit Tigers dugout, for the president. During the National Anthem, Trump was shown on the stadium jumbotron and received boos from some in the crowd, cheers from others. Moments earlier, as he first took his seat, the president briefly waved to the crowd and flashed a thumb’s up — but not all fans noticed because there was no announcement he was arriving.
The stadium also briefly played Trump’s unofficial campaign anthem, “God Bless the USA,” but to little reaction. There were chants of “USA! USA! USA!” but they were more related to marking September 11 than Trump’s attending the game. All that followed Trump stopping by the home team’s clubhouse about 15 minutes before the game. He shook hands with the players and team staff members, and talked about being close for years with late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, calling him “a great friend of mine, the whole family.” Trump predicted the Yankees would win, noting of his past attending games with Steinbrenner, “We won every time I came.”
“You think that was easy sitting with him for a game? It wasn’t. It was brutal. But he won, and you’re going to win,” the president said. He later added: “You’re going to go all the way, and you’ll get in the playoff -- and I think we’ll start off, how about tonight? We’ll start from tonight on, and you’re going to do well.” The Tigers beat the Yankees during the first two games of the series Tuesday and Wednesday by a combined score of 23-3. Trump said he wanted to “wish you guys a lot of luck. You’re great players, I know, every one of you.” The game is Trump’s eighth major sporting event since returning to the White House in January.