Why it was so strange to hear a crowd boo Donald Trump

Even some of Donald Trump’s fiercest critics were uncomfortable with this brutal moment. For the President himself, it was a huge reality check.

American tennis legend John McEnroe suffered a brief moment of confusion at the Australian Open earlier this year.

“I don’t know why they’re booing,” McEnroe said, as jeers echoed around Rod Laver Arena.

His companion in the commentary box, Australian Todd Woodbridge, patiently explained that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s face had just appeared on the courtside screen.

We boo our politicians all the time. Doing so at major sporting events, with as much enthusiasm as possible, is a great Australian tradition.

So to us, the fact that Donald Trump was jeered at a baseball game in Washington D.C. yesterday is not particularly noteworthy.

RELATED: Trump cops boos, ‘Lock him up!’ chant at World Series

But the moment has sparked a rare convulsion of introspection among Mr Trump’s critics in the United States, where respect for the office of the presidency generally keeps that sort of rowdy hostility from the public in check.

Donald Trump grinning as his image is flashed up on the big screen during game five of the World Series. Picture: Tasos Katopodis/AFP

He kept grinning as the crowd booed him. Picture: Will Newton/Getty Images/AFP

But the smile did eventually fall away. Picture: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP

I’m not saying Mr Trump is the first American politician to cop it from a crowd.

It happened to future president Bill Clinton at a NASCAR race in 1992 amid accusations he had dodged the draft.

George W. Bush was booed at a baseball game in 2008, at the height of his post-Iraq, post-Hurricane Katrina unpopularity.

And Barack Obama drew a few jeers at the All-Star Game in 2009, though that was probably because he chose to wear a Chicago White Sox jacket at the home stadium of their regional rivals, the St Louis Cardinals.

This time is a little different. On top of the boos, Mr Trump also endured loud chants of “Lock him up!” from sections of the crowd — an echo of the infamous “Lock her up!” chant from his own political rallies, which is usually directed at Hillary Clinton.

Full on “LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!” chants heard throughout the crowd at Nats Park after President Trump was announced and shown on screen here #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/1ktVXkHYFy

— Monica Alba (@albamonica) October 28, 2019

Even some of Mr Trump’s fiercest critics were uncomfortable with the suggestion he should be thrown in jail.

“It’s un-American,” outspoken MSNBC host Joe Scarborough told viewers.

“We are Americans, and we do not do that. We do not want the world hearing us chant ‘Lock him up!’ to this President, or to any president.”

Scarborough’s fellow host Mika Brzezinski called the chant “sickening”.

The New York Times published a thinkpiece saying Mr Trump’s political opponents were “supposed to better”.

Even a Democratic politician condemned it.

“Frankly I think the office of the President deserves respect, even when the actions of our President at times don’t,” said Senator Chris Coons.

Others pushed back, saying the President deserved what he got.

Um, no.

A President who *leads* a "lock her up" chant against his political enemies smacks of authoritarianism.

Americans who chant "lock him up" to a President who acts like a tyrant and believes he is above the law is calling for accountability. https://t.co/pJVEdNYX0J

— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) October 28, 2019

If you think that democracy is strengthened by calling for the arrest of political opponents, you’re as ignorant and illiberal as Trump himself. Delete your account and read some civics.
Stop embarrassing yourself.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 28, 2019

In fairness to Mr Trump, it’s important to note that Washington D.C. is astonishingly hostile to Republicans in general, and to him in particular. Just 4 per cent of the American capital’s voters supported him in 2016.

We can assume most of the fans in that stadium were Democrats.

If Mr Trump had attended a baseball game in Texas instead, the crowd would not have been so overwhelmingly antagonistic.

But there is a reason this moment has drawn so much attention. It isn’t just a chance for Mr Trump’s political opponents to revel in 20 seconds of humiliation.

It is an exceedingly rare example of the President venturing outside his bubble of supporters and actually interacting with the general public.

At least the seats were comfortable. Picture: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Again, this isn’t really something that would occur to Australians, who are used to seeing their politicians out and about.

Our election campaigns are full of visits to shopping centres and strolls through public spaces, which give ordinary voters an opportunity to grill their leaders as mercilessly as they see fit.

And of course, nary a Cronulla Sharks game passes without a sighting of Scott Morrison in the crowd.

Donald Trump doesn’t do that stuff. When he leaves the White House, it’s to eat at one of his own restaurants, golf at one of his own clubs or hobnob with the members of his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The only voters the President usually sees are the ones wearing “Make America Great Again” caps at his own political rallies, and they are obviously predisposed to support him.

What I’m saying here is that Mr Trump is used to being lauded and adored by pretty much everyone he meets — which presumably makes it easy to assume opposition to him is a fictitious invention of rigged polls and the “fake news” media.

That jeering crowd at Nationals Park shattered the illusion. It showed Mr Trump that many Americans despise him just as passionately as his supporters love him.

The President handled it gracefully, flashing a broad grin until the stadium’s screen cut away, but he must have got the message.