Trump Insults the Play "Hamilton"

Last Friday night Vice President elect Mike Pence attended a performance of "Hamilton" in New York City with his daughter and a nephew.

As Pence entered the theater some members of the audience acted appropriately - exercising their constitutional right to express themselves by cheering, while others exercised their constitutional right to express themselves by booing.

Mike Pence also acted appropriately by telling his young companions, "This is what freedom sounds like."

At the end of the show actor Brandon Dixon acted appropriately by asking Pence to listen to a few remarks which included a request that the new administration "uphold our inalienable rights and work on behalf of all of us." Then he thanked the soon-to-be Vice President for listening.

Once again Mike Pence acted appropriately by staying long enough to hear the actor out.

During a later interview Pence acted appropriately yet again when he said he was not offended by what happened at the performance, by calling the show "an incredible production," and encouraging others to see it. He also took the opportunity to reassure Americans that the new administration will indeed work for everyone.

In fact, the only person who did not act appropriately in this whole incident was Trump himself. He launched a series of tweets insulting the cast of "Hamilton" and demanding an apology for what he called harassment and insulting behavior. He insulted the actors by saying they could not memorize their lines and called the play "overrated." As he has done in the past Trump displayed his instability and immaturity by tweeting suddenly and rashly and then by deleting at least one of his own tweets as he apparently, and temporarily, regained enough self-control to realize he was embarrassing himself.

With his tweets Trump never even bothered to respond to the comment Brandon Dixon made. He never even bothered, as Pence did, to give reassurances that he will work for all Americans. Apparently insulting people for exercising their constitutional rights is more important to Trump than responding to legitimate concerns voiced by citizens.

Oh, and the Executive Director of the ACLU also acted appropriately when he said: "President-elect Trump needs a refresher on his high school civics class. Americans don't apologize — not even to presidents or vice presidents — for the lawful and proper exercise of their constitutional rights."

Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway

[This great biography of Hamilton is the one the current Broadway hit is based on. If you read it please send me a review I can publish here.

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