Melania Trump Hit With Chorus of Boos During Awkward Football Outing

The first lady was in Louisiana—one state that didn’t turn blue in the midterms.

Melania Trump, 56, spent her Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, getting an earful of boos during a college football game.

The first lady was there to announce a partnership between Louisiana State University and her “Fostering the Future” program to provide scholarships for LSU students who have spent time in the foster care system.

Melania Trump

Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/Reuters

After the announcement, she stayed for the game between LSU and Alabama, where her presence was announced on the big screen as “Miss Melania Trump.”

The crowd initially offered subdued cheers, but a loud chorus of boos soon overwhelmed them, prompting organizers to play music over the stadium speakers in an apparent attempt to drown out the negative reception.

Melania’s spokesperson, Marc Beckman, denied that the crowd booed her, citing the first lady’s press pool report by a New York Post reporter as proof and providing an alternate video of the events.

The video, which begins around the same time as the one the Daily Beast viewed, cuts out seven seconds after Melania is announced, just as the booing that is clearly audible in the first video becomes overwhelming.

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LSU players sported Melania’s “Be Best” slogan on their helmets and jerseys, while the message was also projected on the big screen during the boo-fest. The initiative, launched during Donald Trump’s first term, originally focused on children’s well-being and combating cyberbullying.

The $7.2 million “Fostering the Future” partnership will use private donations secured by the first lady and LSU to establish an endowment fund for the scholarships.

US first Lady Melania Trump poses for a picture during an event to announce the $5 million Fostering the Future Endowment Fund at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US, November 7, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/Pool

Melania Trump poses during an event to announce the $5 million “Fostering the Future” Endowment Fund at Louisiana State University.

MMR Group Inc., an electrical contracting company based in Baton Rouge, committed $5 million, with additional LSU Foundation donors providing more than $2 million.

Melania arrived in Baton Rouge wearing a brown bomber jacket and dark sunglasses—and flashing a broad smile despite the past week’s events.

The Alabama-LSU matchup should have been friendly territory for a Republican first lady, given that both states largely escaped Tuesday’s blue wave.

US first Lady Melania Trump gestures as she departs for Louisiana at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, November 7, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/Pool

US first Lady Melania Trump leaves Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for Louisiana, Nov. 7, 2026.

Louisiana wasn’t entirely immune to the Democratic surge, however.

The Louisiana Senate race was one contest in which Trump, 80, intervened, backing a primary challenger to Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial.

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks to reporters following a Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch with U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2026.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks to reporters following a Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch with the president in Washington, D.C.

Cassidy lost his primary to Trump-backed Julia Letlow, who then faced Democratic farmer Jamie Davis.

Letlow is projected to win the seat, but by an uncomfortably narrow margin, with Davis receiving 49.1 percent of the vote to Letlow’s 50.9 percent.

In 2020, Cassidy won re-election with 59.3 percent of the vote; his closest challenger received just 19 percent.

Whether the booing reflected Americans’ post-midterm frustrations or not, Melania has another popularity problem: She is the least popular modern first lady on record.

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