Vice President–elect Mike Pence praised Hamilton during an interview on Sunday, November 20, two days after he was booed at a New York production of the hit musical.
“First off — my daughter and I and her cousins really enjoyed the show,” Pence, 57, told Fox News host Chris Wallace. “Hamilton is just an incredible production and incredibly talented people. It was real joy to be there.”
“When we arrived, we heard a few boos and we heard some cheers,” he continued. “I nudged my kids and reminded them that that’s what freedom sounds like. And in the end, I did hear what was said from the stage and I can tell you — I wasn’t offended by what was said. I’ll leave to others whether that was the appropriate venue to say it.”
When Wallace asked whether Pence wanted an apology from the cast for their direct address toward him at curtain call, the Vice President–elect deflected. “I would leave that to others as to whether that was the appropriate venue for that,” he repeated. “But, I will tell you, Chris, if you haven’t seen the show — go to see it. It’s a great, great show. I’m a real history buff, so my daughter and I and her cousins really enjoyed it.”
Hamilton star Brandon Victor Dixon directly addressed Pence in a special message during curtain call, telling him, “We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our friends, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
On Sunday, Pence told Wallace that he understood the root of the cast’s message. “I do want to say, that the basic element and center of that message is one that I want to address,” he said. “And that is — I know that this is a very disappointing time for people that did not see their candidate win in this national election. I know that this is a very stressful time for some people. … I just want to reassure every American that in the days ahead I’m very confident that they’re going to see the President-elect Donald Trump be the president for all the people.”
On Saturday, November 19, President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to demand that the Hamilton cast issue a formal apology to Pence for “harassing” “a very good man.” On Sunday, he reiterated his message.
“The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior,” he tweeted.
(Though Trump has yet to see the hit Broadway musical, his daughter Ivanka snagged a coveted ticket to the sold-out show in March, which she tweeted about afterward: “I finally saw @HamiltonMusical last night. I had very high expectations and they were still surpassed!”)
