President-elect Donald Trump has his hands full at the moment. Not only does he have to find suitable people for his future administration, save Ford jobs, and settle lawsuits, but he also has to keep an eye out on anyone looking to harass his staff, Vice President-elect Mike Pence included.
You see, Pence attended the highly acclaimed Hamilton musical on Broadway on Friday evening. And that’s where the cast of the show decided to ambush the VP-elect with a message about diversity and inclusion. That’s something Trump could not let slide.
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“Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing,” the President-elect tweeted on Saturday. “This should not happen!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/799972624713420804
“The Theater must always be a safe and special place,” Trump also said. “The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/799974635274194947
What did Hamilton do to Pence?
Well, as The Washington Post and The New York Times report, the crew had a message for the Trump administration, and delivered it to Pence at the end of the play.
“You know, we have a guest in the audience this evening,” Aaron Burr actor Victor Dixon said before reading the message. “And Vice President-elect Pence, I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us just a few more moments. There’s nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen. There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love. We have a message for you, sir. We hope that you will hear us out.”
He then asked the audience to share what he was going to say because the message “this message needs to be spread far and wide.”
Here’s that message:
“Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you, and we truly thank you for joining us here at ‘Hamilton: An American Musical.’ We really do,” Dixon said to further applause. “We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again, we truly thank you truly for (sharing) this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds and orientations.”
The message did go viral online:
Tonight, VP-Elect Mike Pence attended #HamiltonBway. After the show, @BrandonVDixon delivered the following statement on behalf of the show. pic.twitter.com/Jsg9Q1pMZs
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) November 19, 2016
The VP-elect did hear the message from the hallway, as he exited the auditorium before Dixon finished speaking.
Dixon responded to Trump’s defense of Pence, saying that “conversation is not harassment sir,” and that he appreciated Pence for stopping to listen.
conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.
— Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) November 19, 2016
Before the show started, Pence was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos.
Proud of @HamiltonMusical. Proud of @BrandonVDixon, for leading with love.
And proud to remind you that ALL are welcome at the theater.— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 19, 2016
The cast knew in advance that Pence will be in the audience for the sold-out show, and decided to write a message to him.
“When we first got the call that [Pence] was coming, there was certainly a question of what we would do,” Dixon told Broadway.com. “These are the opportunities that you die for.”
The speech was written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, lead producer Jeffrey Seller, and director Thomas Kai, according to the Times. Various other cast members provided input.
In case you were wondering, this is by no means fake news. It’s real news detailing the busy agenda of the President-elect.
