U.S. President Donald Trump provoked a loud reaction from the crowd inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday night. Unfortunately for him, it was overly negative. Trump was heavily booed at MSG as he watched the hometown New York Knicks lose 115-111 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
Even before Trump entered MSG, fans booed as his motorcade passed by in the streets of New York City. Taking in the opening ceremonies, Knicks fans made their negative opinions loudly known, with boos echoing in the historic arena whenever Trump appeared on the Jumbotron. The president smirked and saluted when he was shown on the screen during the opening ceremonies.
The jeering was so loud that it almost drowned out the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner by Broadway performer Avery Wilson. On social media, Knicks fans were also filmed booing the president at various watch parties, including one at Bryant Park.
Trump Fills His Belly
The U.S. president seemingly enjoyed the food served at the owner's box at MSG. He was filmed eating a bucket of French fries and later a slice of pizza, folded up New York style. It is not known whether Trump had a food coma or the basketball game was not entertaining, but the president was also caught on camera catching up on some sleep.
VIP Box Company
Inside the VIP-only owner's box used by Knicks owner James Dolan, Trump was surrounded by friends, family, and White House personnel. Most notably with the president along with Dolan were granddaughter Kai Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, BBC News reported.
Trump's Presence Affects Fan Experience
Basketball fans were not happy with Trump's presence even before he showed up, thanks to the beefed-up security leading into MSG. Fans faced long lines with heavy security screening, a no-bag policy, and a line of fences and police presence for blocks in the surrounding area of the arena in Midtown Manhattan. Watch parties that were common outside MSG were cancelled due to the security surrounding Trump's appearance.
“The NYPD, in coordination with the Secret Service, made the decision for Game 3, where we have a presidential visit, that we could not support watch parties right outside of the Garden,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday, per Yahoo! News.
ICE Presence Threatened
Before Monday's game, White House border czar Tom Homan threatened to invade New York City with ICE agents in response to the recently-signed state immigration package that puts restrictions on police cooperation with federal deportation crackdowns. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized Homan's threat, stating, “We will not allow ICE or anyone else to sow fear in our communities — especially at this moment.” Mamdani wrote on X, “As the world comes to our city, we will stand proudly with our immigrant neighbours and reject these attacks for what they are: An attempt to divide us.”
