{"id":724267,"date":"2026-06-09T02:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/724267\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T02:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:32:09","slug":"donald-trump-given-hostile-reception-as-new-york-crowd-boos-and-jeers-president-at-nba-finals-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/724267\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump given hostile reception as New York crowd boos and jeers president at NBA finals | NBA finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on the video screens at Madison Square Garden on Monday night before Game 3 of the NBA finals<\/a> between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.<\/p>\n

Trump was shown on the jumbotron while the Star-Spangled Banner was being sung before the game, and jeers and boos broke out around the arena<\/a>. The president was shown for a little over eight seconds and held a salute the whole time with a smile on his face. A few seconds later, the video board showed Knicks players in line and the boos turned to cheers.<\/p>\n

The US president, a longtime Knicks fan, attended as the guest of team owner James Dolan<\/a> as New York hosted their first NBA finals game since 1999. Trump entered the arena amid a heavy security presence. He watched the game from the owner\u2019s box above center court, while Secret Service personnel commandeered the neighboring suites on either side. Also in the box were Dolan, interior secretary Doug Burgum,
transportation secretary Sean Duffy and Trump\u2019s granddaughter Kai<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The hostile reception comes as little surprise. NBA fans skew liberal<\/a> and the Knicks play in a city that firmly backed Kamala Harris<\/a> in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s appearance added another layer of spectacle to a city already in the thrall of basketball fever<\/a>. The Knicks entered the night carrying a 2-0 series lead over the Spurs and seeking to move within one victory of their first championship since 1973.<\/p>\n

Hours before tipoff, fans encountered heightened security around Madison Square Garden. A 10-foot perimeter fence surrounded the arena, ticket holders were advised to arrive at least two hours early and the team implemented a strict no-bag policy.<\/p>\n

By midday, dozens of fans were already queueing to pass through metal detectors manned by Secret Service agents to access the team store.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could have picked any other day. This night is for the fans,\u201d said Joanne Cadden, 53, a Knicks supporter from the Bronx who has followed the team since the early 1990s. \u201cYou\u2019re making people go away from the Garden. This wasn\u2019t the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gesturing toward the fencing and checkpoints surrounding the arena, Cadden added: \u201cThis looks like prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not every fan objected to Trump\u2019s attendance, but many said it had altered the atmosphere around one of the biggest nights in the team\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Rich Becker, a 54-year-old Knicks fan from Queens who came to Midtown despite not having a ticket, said the president\u2019s visit had changed the feel of the day, including the cancellation of the outdoor watch party<\/a> that had drawn thousands of fans outside the Garden during earlier playoff games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed everything,\u201d Becker said. \u201cShould he be here? I don\u2019t think he should, but he\u2019s coming. He used to be a Knicks fan. He spent a lot of time at the Garden back in the day. But now it\u2019s a little different. Just stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker said he worried the extensive screening procedures could affect the atmosphere inside the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some concern,\u201d he said. \u201cNot everybody\u2019s going to be in their seats by tip-off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning at around 4pm, authorities sealed off several blocks around the arena, creating what NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch described as a \u201cfrozen zone\u201d. The restrictions encompassed the area between West 30th and West 35th Streets and Sixth and Eighth Avenues, with police checkpoints limiting access to ticket holders, rail passengers, credentialed personnel and others with an authorized reason to enter.<\/p>\n

The restrictions also led officials to cancel the outdoor watch party that had drawn thousands of fans outside the Garden during earlier playoff games, though city officials said other viewing events, including ones at Bryant Park and Central Park\u2019s Wollman Rink, would go ahead as planned. The watch party outside MSG was expected to return for Game 4 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The precautions echoed scenes from Trump\u2019s appearance at last year\u2019s US Open men\u2019s final<\/a> in Queens, where security bottlenecks produced lengthy queues outside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Despite a delayed start, thousands of fans were still filing into their seats well into the second set.<\/p>\n

The heightened security followed massive celebrations around the Garden after New York\u2019s Game 2 victory in San Antonio on Friday. Thousands of fans packed the surrounding streets, while police said multiple arrests were made after some supporters climbed light poles, blocked traffic and refused orders to disperse following the Knicks\u2019 win.<\/p>\n

Trump confirmed last week that he planned to attend the game after receiving an invitation from Dolan. His appearance on Monday night made him the first sitting US president to attend an NBA finals<\/a> game.<\/p>\n

While Trump has become a regular presence at major sporting events<\/a> during his second term, including the Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup, his appearance at Madison Square Garden carried particular resonance. Long before entering politics, he was a fixture courtside during the Knicks\u2019 1990s glory years.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s appearance also placed two of the city\u2019s most prominent political figures under one roof. New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani was also in attendance<\/a>. He told reporters earlier in the day that he bought a standing-room only ticket from Madison Square Garden for about $1,000.<\/p>\n

Other prominent names at Madison Square Garden on Monday included Knicks fans Spike Lee, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Jon Stewart and Tracy Morgan.<\/p>\n

For Tom Meade, 76, who attended Knicks playoff games during the franchise\u2019s championship era and brought his son Tommy to Monday\u2019s game, the fences, checkpoints and presidential motorcade were ultimately secondary to the occasion itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is amazing,\u201d Meade said as fans streamed toward the Garden. \u201cThe only thing close to it was the Willis Reed and Walt Frazier years. Those championship teams [in 1970 and 1973].\u201d<\/p>\n

The heightened security was \u201ca nuisance\u201d, he added, \u201cbut we\u2019re here to enjoy the game and the Knicks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on the video screens at Madison Square Garden on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-724267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}