During the Red Sox home opener on Friday, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu faced a surprising reception from the crowd at Fenway Park. The two Democratic leaders were met with a chorus of boos from the more than 36,000 fans gathered for the game against the San Diego Padres.

Their appearance was part of a pregame ceremony but quickly turned into a viral moment as the booing was widely shared on social media. This unexpected reaction provided a platform for Republican gubernatorial candidates in Massachusetts to voice their own perspectives.

Brian Shortsleeve, one of the GOP hopefuls, seized the moment by sharing a video on social media platform X. In the clip, he commented, “Hey, everybody, coming to you from Fenway Park. Here’s a quick update: It’s a beautiful afternoon. The Red Sox are up by one. Maura Healey and Michelle Wu just got booed very loudly.”

Adding to his commentary, Shortsleeve remarked in another post, “It was even louder in person!” as he capitalized on the buzz surrounding the event.

One of those candidates, Brian Shortsleeve, said in an X video, “Hey, everybody, coming to you from Fenway Park. Here’s a quick update: It’s a beautiful afternoon. The Red Sox are up by one. Maura Healey and Michelle Wu just got booed very loudly.” 

In another post, he wrote, “It was even louder in person!”

Another candidate, Mike Minogue, posted a video of Healey and Wu being booed, writing, “Looks like fans want someone else up to bat.”

Candidate Mike Kennealy wrote in an X post, “Man, I love Red Sox Nation!”

Healey on Thursday demanded that two private airline companies stop providing flights for ICE to quickly remove illegal immigrants who have been detained, citing a recent ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis.

In October, one of Healey’s aides was arrested for cocaine trafficking after investigators intercepted packages with the drug slated to be delivered to a state office building where he worked, prosecutors said. 

Wu has been a target of frequent controversy due to her resistance to immigration enforcement.

In February, Wu accused federal immigration agents of conducting “unconstitutional” operations in the city and ordered the public release of surveillance and body camera footage from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.