Vince Vaughn gets social media backlash for chatting with Trump at college championship game
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump watched LSU and Clemson battle it out for the college football championship in New Orleans on Monday night – and they were seated near another famous face. Actor Vince Vaughn also attended the game, and was seen chatting with the president and first lady.
The Trumps were greeted with cheers as they took the field for the national anthem before the game. Some fans cheered "USA, USA," and others chanted, "Four more years," according to the Associated Press.
Video captured by another fan showed the Trumps shaking hands with Vaughn, and then having a conversation with him as the rest of the stadium sang "Sweet Caroline." While there is no audio of their conversation, it appeared to be pleasant, with Mr. Trump shaking the actor's hand and smiling.
"I'm very sorry to have to share this video with you. All of it, every part of it," journalist Timothy Burke wrote on Twitter, sharing the video of the interaction.
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
His sentiment was shared by other social media users, who criticized the 49-year-old actor for mingling with the president. Other social media users supported the actor, and some were impartial to the situation, saying it was just an actor meeting the president and having a "civil conversation."
Vaughn is a libertarian and is friends with Rand Paul, who he supported his presidential bids, according to several reports. It is unclear who he voted for during the 2016 presidential election.
Another celebrity was recently criticized for mingling with a president during a sporting event. Elle DeGeneres was spotted laughing with former President George W. Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game in October 2019. Video of the unlikely pair received some negative attention, which DeGeneres addressed during the monologue of her talk show.
She acknowledged that "people were upset," and "they thought, why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president? And they didn't even know I was holding the brand new iPhone 11." All joking aside, DeGeneres said the moral of the story is: "We're all different. And I think that we've forgotten that that's OK that we're all different."
Vaughn, who does not have a public social media presence, has not responded to the backlash following his interaction with the president. CBS News has reached out for comment.