In a disgusting display of partisan anger, the crowd at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., chanted, “Lock him up!” when President Donald Trump’s presence at the World Series game was announced Sunday evening.
President Trump was booed loudly by the fans at Nats Park when he was shown on the big screen.
Then came a loud chant: “Lock him up.” @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/LBbgSAHd6k— Adam Longo (@adamlongoTV) October 28, 2019
To their credit, MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski condemned the “Lock him up!” chants.
“Again, I speak to the lock him up chants,” Scarborough said. “It’s un-American. It started with Donald Trump. In fact, he’s made it a centerpiece of his campaign rallies.”
“We find it sickening when it happens at his rallies. I find it kind of sickening to watch people jeering at the president,” Brzezinski said.
“Of course it is sickening,” her co-host agreed. “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 any president.”
Brzezinski had to get a dig in at Trump, adding, “and yet he created it.”
Scarborough concluded, “Let’s hope as we’re moving forward, maybe this is one less fascist tactic he and his supporters use during chants. You are going to actually imprison your political opponents.”
"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." — @JoeNBC pic.twitter.com/9IgMCETBdn
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) October 28, 2019
I don’t often agree with Joe Scarborough, but I’m glad he applied this standard equally. Chants demanding the imprisonment of political opponents should be condemned on both sides of the aisle. Scarborough and Brzezinski condemned Trump’s supporters for chanting “Lock her up!” about Hillary Clinton, so they condemn Trump opponents when they chant “Lock him up!” about Donald Trump.
Yet many liberals seemed outraged that these hosts would apply an equal standard to their outrage.
“I disagree with you vehemently, [Joe Scarborough],” tweeted Jon Cooper, chairman of the Democratic Coalition. “The world NEEDS to hear us chant ‘Lock him up’ to this particular president.”
I disagree with you vehemently, @JoeNBC. The world NEEDS to hear us chant “Lock him up” to this particular president.
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) October 28, 2019
Anti-Trump Twitter celebrity Tara Dublin also defended the chants. “Hey [Scarborough] & [Brzezinski], it’s called karma & he deserves to be shamed everywhere he goes for what he’s done to our country. You enabled him during the campaign, STFU now & let us enjoy watching his demise,” she tweeted, with the “Lock him up” hashtag.
Anti-Trump actor Tom Arnold — who has threatened the president’s family on Twitter — credited a group of veterans for chanting “Lock him up” and holding “Veterans for Impeachment” banners in the outfield. “We are taking our country back,” Arnold tweeted.
https://twitter.com/TomArnold/status/1188836231456493568
Anti-Trump actress Rosie O’Donnell also attacked Scarborough and Brzezinski, calling them “100 % wrong.” She argued that “Lock him up” is “the only language [Trump] understands- we DO want the world to know we do not stand by this illegitimate president – he was placed by putin – we should be in the streets chanting – [Lock him up!].”
100 % wrong – it is the only language he understands- we DO want the world to know we do not stand by this illegitimate president – he was placed by putin – we should be in the streets chanting – #LockHimUpً – #impeachment asap #saveAMERICA pic.twitter.com/dBtCYbvfIz
— ROSIE (@Rosie) October 28, 2019
President Trump has not yet responded to the chants or the impeachment signs during the game.
It is tragic that Americans cannot watch the World Series without partisan political outrage rearing its ugly head. It is even more tragic to see so many influential liberals condemning Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for applying an equal standard to Republicans and Democrats.
America is in dire need of civility and a return to the basic truth that there is more to life than politics. Liberals and conservatives should both be worried when hecklers call for the imprisonment of the president of the United States — in the middle of the World Series. This is not normal, and it should not be encouraged, no matter how much you hate Trump.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member