\u201cThe message is simple: celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight if you do not have tickets for the game,\u201d NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a news conference.<\/p>\n
AFP journalists on Monday saw a 3m fence around parts of Madison Square Garden and a large presence of Secret Service personnel charged with protecting the US President.<\/p>\n
The agents, some heavily armed, were accompanied by hundreds of NYPD officers as crowds gathered on streets near the venue and at public viewing areas elsewhere in the city.<\/p>\n
\u2018Leave us alone\u2019<\/p>\n
Some New Yorkers and Democratic lawmakers criticized Trump for the inconvenience.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring one of the best moments NYC has enjoyed in decades, [Trump] makes it all about himself. Trump should LEAVE US ALONE! He\u2019s not wanted here,\u201d Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X.<\/p>\n
As Trump\u2019s convoy travelled through New York to Madison Square Garden, some protesters on the streets held signs saying \u201cTrump must go\u201d. At least two people raised their middle fingers towards the vehicles.<\/p>\n
Knicks fan Anthony Pulley, 43, told AFP he appreciated Trump coming to the game even if he found the disruption annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it sucks. I think it really put a damper on all the watch parties. But it\u2019s pretty cool he wants to show up and be a part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Knicks have a commanding 2-0 lead in the best of seven series against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
The team, chasing their first basketball championship since 1973, have whipped up a feverish following in the largest US city.<\/p>\n
\u2018Protect the president\u2019<\/p>\n
Ticket prices for Monday\u2019s game were out of reach for most New Yorkers, but the self-proclaimed \u201cWorld\u2019s Most Famous Arena\u201d was still packed to the rafters, with celebrity fans courtside.<\/p>\n
Among those attending was New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who told reporters he paid nearly $1000 for his tickets.<\/p>\n
The Secret Service planned to deploy counter-drone technology as part of its operation to protect the US leader, who has faced three alleged assassination attempts in less than two years.<\/p>\n
Trump, a long-time Knicks fan and native New Yorker, last visited Madison Square Garden in November 2024 to watch a UFC fight after his election victory. He earlier held a campaign rally at the venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secret Service\u2019s focus is straightforward: to ensure everyone attending the game can enjoy the game and have a safe experience, while we carry out our responsibility to protect the President of the United States,\u201d special agent Matt McCool told reporters.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, police have downplayed broader security concerns after a stabbing late on Sunday (local time) wounded six people at Penn Station, which sits beneath the venue. US media described the male suspect as emotionally disturbed with no terror links.<\/p>\n
\u2013 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe message is simple: celebrate the Knicks, but avoid the MSG area tonight if you do not have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[3017,28440,1975,43036,9218,236798,2178,156,49640,5269,8589,440,124141,236799,9878,40340,117,111,139,69,2572,12064,2437,10505,26533,2044,2179,437,236800,3040,3593,2173],"class_list":["post-467944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ahead","tag-arena","tag-at","tag-attendance","tag-before","tag-booed","tag-donald","tag-entertainment","tag-finals","tag-game","tag-garden","tag-local","tag-madison","tag-matchup","tag-monday","tag-nba","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-president","tag-prompted","tag-security","tag-square","tag-storied","tag-time","tag-trump","tag-tv","tag-ultratight","tag-us","tag-venue","tag-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}