CHICAGO -While his beloved Yankees were duking it out with the Mets at Shea Stadium yesterday, Donald Trump was a thousand miles away, holding court at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs battled the crosstown rival White Sox.
The billionaire businessman – invited by the Cubs to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch – was initially roundly cheered by the rowdy crowd as he took the field to throw the opening pitch.
“They only asked me 10 minutes before the game to throw the opening ball – and that was a bit nerve-wracking,” said Trump, who claimed not to be the least bit nervous about his ballpark singing debut.
By the time the main event rolled around, however, the crowd was decidedly mixed in its reaction.
Sox fans in the standing-room-only crowd of more than 40,000 booed most of the way through Trump’s enthusiastic – albeit somewhat off-key – rendition of the classic tune.
“They know I’m rooting for the home team,” quipped the developer.
Trump, accompanied by longtime girlfriend Melania Knauss, was the latest in a long line of celebs – including Mel Gibson, Jesse Ventura, Gary Sinese, Michael Bolton, the B-52s, David Copperfield and Jay Leno – who’ve given the tune a go at Wrigley in recent years.
He says he didn’t practice at home, and got only a quick, unplugged run-through at the ballpark during the sixth inning.
Though Trump’s performance likely won’t land him a recording contract, he was far better than former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who gave what one Cub executive called “the most atrocious” performance in Wrigley history.
“We’re still laughing about it. He was superbly, beautifully terrible – and he’s been invited back. He lowered the bar for everyone who followed him.”
Throughout the game, Trump, who played baseball in high school and is an avid fan, was in his glory.
When the crowd below his private box began chanting, “Buy the Cubs! Buy the Cubs!” Trump stood and gave them a thumbs-up. But he said, “I don’t think I’d really want to buy a ball club.”
Just before he headed up to sing, a spectator below him held up a hastily-scrawled sign that read, “Don – We Need Beer (Section 107).” Trump obliged with a few from his stash.
Still, a few Chicagoans were decidedly unimpressed with the Cubs’ latest celebrity crooner.
“Donald Trump, who’s that again?” asked Millie Tracer of Skokie. “I came to see the game.”
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2JlfXF7j3Bmamhfqb%2B2uc9mqqKml6h6p7vRZquhnV2bsq%2BvxKxkmqxdrL%2Bqs8uesGg%3D