Trump has virtually never been seen in Washington outside the White House, his own hotel and a handful of other highly controlled settings. He came with the first lady, his daughter Ivanka Trump, a coterie of Republican members of Congress and top aides, who could be seen smiling, chatting and posing for selfies throughout the game. He entered without fanfare about eight minutes before first pitch, noticed by only a few in the crowd. US President Donald Trump, centre, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump and Republican lawmakers, reacts as the stadium boos when he is shown on the giant screen during a baseball World Series game between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday. Credit:AP The trip to the ballpark marked the first time Trump attended a Washington sporting event since becoming President. He has not eaten at a Washington restaurant beyond those in his own hotel and has skipped traditional social events such as the Kennedy Centre Honours and the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

The Nationals had sought to keep politics out of their first trip to the World Series and did not invite Trump, who decided to come and then arranged the logistics with Major League Baseball, officials said. After his brief introduction, Trump was largely a non-presence in the stadium. The crowd watching a World Series baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington boos US President Donald Trump. Credit:The Washington Post Presidents often throw out the ceremonial first pitch when they attend a baseball game, but that honour on Sunday instead went to chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, who has faced off with Trump in court over scuttled plans to build a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel and has criticised many of Trump's policies. Andres received a loud ovation when he appeared on the field before the game. Trump was expected to meet a group of wounded veterans during the game, a White House aide said.

During the fifth innings, Alan Pitts and Naveed Shah held up signs that read, "Veterans for Impeachment" at their seats behind the home plate. The men said they were Iraq veterans who were with Common Defence, an organisation for veterans who are against the Trump administration. "Our oath didn't end when we left active duty," Pitts said. "We still defend it today, and Congress needs to do the same. They need to step up and hold the President accountable for his illegal and unconstitutional acts." US President Donald Trump waves to the crowd during Game 5 of the World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday. Credit:Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post Alex McCoy, a Marine Corps veteran with the group said that, because signs of a certain size are permitted in the stadium, "We're not breaking any rules that we're aware of. "We would hope that they're not kicked out for that. We're just trying to assert our First Amendment rights."

Other veterans from the group planned to attend too, but not in the visible section directly behind home plate. "We could only afford the two tickets [there]," McCoy said. The group declined to say how much it paid for the seats, but World Series tickets in prime sections cost thousands of dollars. US President Donald Trump, watching a World Series baseball game in Washington with first lady Melania Trump, was booed by the crowd. Credit:The Washington Post After Pitts and Shah showed their signs, Pitts said security told them to take the signs down, and fans around them reacted angrily, including a man in a Make America Great Again hat who told the pair they would "have a big problem" if they got close to him and his friends. They were able to remain at the game. The Nationals and Major League Baseball leadership were reluctant to discuss Trump's visit. Chased down a hallway in the bowels of the stadium, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declined to comment on his golf outing with Trump at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday.

Loading "I'm not talking," he said before boarding a freight elevator where Secret Service dogs were sniffing nearby. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, wearing a blue-and-white-striped shirt on the field before the game, was also not interested in talking about Trump. "I don't know where he's sitting," Rizzo said with a smile before walking into the Nationals' dugout a minute later. Asked twice whether Trump was invited by the team to attend, he declined to say. "I've got to worry about going 1-0 on the field," he said. "That's what I've got to worry about."

Loading Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg said he was "excited" for Trump to come but that it had turned the clubhouse into an unusual atmosphere. "Usually the dogs that are sniffing in our clubhouse are these nice Labs that are super friendly. And today there was a German shepherd that I didn't really feel comfortable petting," he said. Andres, on the other hand, was a welcome presence at the game. As the Astros took batting practice, singer Pedro Capo, whose song Calma has become a Nationals anthem of sorts, hung out behind home plate. He had an Astros glove in his hand and a red Nationals towel in his back left pocket.