President Trump can catch a break at arena sporting events.
Some two dozen angry protesters armed with bright orange anti-Trump signs were stationed outside Madison Square Garden on Saturday night as President Trump arrived at the arena for UFC 244 — but there were twice as many fans happy to see the commander in chief.
Trump, who traveled with Reps. Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, and Mark Meadows, (R-NC), touched down at John F. Kennedy Airport at 8:05 p.m.
The entourage arrived at the Garden an hour later, after a quick hop on Marine One to the downtown heliport near Wall Street, followed by a motorcade trip up the FDR and over to Midtown.
The first “cage fight” of the evening would have been the unevenly-matched crowds of pro- and anti-Trumpers lining Seventh Avenue — but the president entered the arena more securely, through an underground garage.
Inside, Trump stood up in his seat in the VIP section and waved to a crowd that mostly cheered — though there were also plenty of “boos” and the occasional raised middle finger as well.
His outdoors critics, surrounded by a heavy NYPD presence on the sidewalks around the arena, were also lively.
They waved signs reading “Trump/Pence OUT NOW!” and “Trump is the Lynch-Mob Leader-in-chief!” as they awaited the president’s arrival at the UFC 244 match between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
But Trump, who was heavily booed when he attended Game 5 of the World Series last week in Washington D.C., at least had very vocal supporters inside and outside the World’s Most Famous arena.
“I’m here to support my president and just to say thank you President Trump,” said Karen Vraun, 59.
“No more terrorists!” and “Deport Omar!” supporters shouted, in a reference to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, as protesters brandished signs in both English and Spanish.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for the trip to New York, the President touched on a number of topics — including whether he regrets calling US Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who helped blow the whistle on the Ukraine scandal, a “Never Trumper.”
“You’ll be seeing very soon what comes out. Then you can ask,” Trump replied, without specifics.
The president then slammed the impeachment inquiry as a Democratic “scam” and said he’d love to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House, calling the leader “a good man.”
“I would love to have him come to the White House if he’d like to come, and I think he’d like to come.”
Trump added he wasn’t worried about a report of smugglers cutting through his new border wall.
“I haven’t heard that. We have a very powerful wall. But we have a very powerful wall. But you can cut through any wall.”
Additional reporting by Kathianne Bonniello