Donald and Melania Trump Sit with Vince Vaughn at National Championship Game Amid Impeachment
Donald Trump and Melania Trump were spotted chatting with actor Vince Vaughn during Monday night’s college football national championship game as the Senate prepares for the president’s upcoming impeachment trial back in Washington, D.C.
The president looked at ease as he and the actor watched Louisiana State University Tigers beat the Clemson University Tigers 42-25.
Trump seemed engrossed in conversation with Vaughn, who was seated on the other side of Mrs. Trump. The first lady, meanwhile, appeared to largely keep quiet.
The Breakup star, 49, was seen smiling as Trump, 73, happily shook his hand following their catch-up session, which was captured in a video shared on Twitter.
A rep for the actor tells PEOPLE, Vaughn and Trump did not attend the championship together but rather “met this evening at the game briefly.”
I'm very sorry to have to share this video with you. All of it, every part of it. pic.twitter.com/ELMbDHZbZq
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 14, 2020
Despite their friendly chat, Vaughn backed Rand Paul in the 2016 election rather than his seatmate.
Before making their way to their suite to watch the game, Trump, who may have been partial to Clemson (who he hosted for a viral fast-food feast after last year’s championship win), was met with chants of “U-S-A!” as he walked the field at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana alongside his wife.
Trump acknowledged the cheers as he turned towards the stands and applauded the praise.
Donald and Melania Trump take the field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the National Anthem ahead of the #CFPNationalChampionship.
Chants of “U-S-A” ... to which Trump turns and applauds. Looks on as Louisiana’s Lauren Daigle belts out a perfect anthem. pic.twitter.com/RtbIbVSv2W— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) January 14, 2020
The president and first lady then listened to Lousiana native Lauren Daigle perform the National Anthem.
While he was received a warm welcome in New Orleans, Trump was met with different treatment ahead of LSU’s game against the University of Alabama in November.
Before the game, which was held at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama, there were multiple signs of protest, including an inflatable blimp resembling a baby Donald Trump wearing a diaper, according to ESPN, which also reported there was also a sign that read “Roll Tide Impeach 45.”
That same month on Nov. 2, Trump drew loud boos when he arrived at the Ultimate Fighting Championship in New York City. Videos shared to Twitter revealed a large number of boos directed at Trump when he entered Madison Square Garden for the event. (According to reports, there were also cheers and claps — though the boos sounded louder.)
Just days prior, Trump was also booed at the final game of the World Series when a pro-Trump campaign ad played and some Nationals fans booed the president and chanted “lock him up” — a twist on a common chant during his rallies, usually referring to former Secretary of State and Trump 2016 challenger Hillary Clinton.
But back in D.C. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s planning to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate this week, kicking off the next round in President Trump’s impeachment fight.
Trump was impeached on Dec. 18 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his role in the Ukraine scandal. Investigators found that Trump had withheld about $400 million in military aid from Ukraine while pressuring Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to dig into former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s family as well as a probe a conspiracy theory about the 2016 election.
The White House refused to cooperate with the investigation, sending no top Trump Administration officials to testify during the hearings. A whistleblower complaint, which prompted the investigation late last summer, also noted that the White House tried to hide the full transcript of the call, moving it between computer systems to make it harder to find.
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Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Read the Transcripts! A totally partisan Hoax, never happened before. House Republicans voted 195-0, with three Dems voting with the Republicans. Very unfair to tens of millions of voters!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing and is expected to be quickly acquitted of the charges in the Senate. Republican lawmakers, who are partial to Trump, hold a majority of the seats in the Senate.
No president has ever been removed from office over impeachment. President Andrew Johnson and President Bill Clinton were both impeached but later acquitted. President Richard Nixon faced the threat of removal but resigned from office before he could either be impeached or tried in the Senate for his part in the Watergate Scandal.