By MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT<\/p>\n
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> confirmed he will attend Game 3<\/a> of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he doesn\u2019t have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who can\u2019t afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can watch it on television,\u201d Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday as he flew to Wisconsin for an event with farmers, after he was asked about tickets that have climbed as high as $8,000 each when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off in Manhattan for the first time in the series.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sorta semi-free to watch it on television,\u201d the president added. \u201cThat\u2019s the way life goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump further noted that if the Knicks weren\u2019t successful \u2014 as they haven\u2019t been most seasons since last advancing to the finals in 1999 \u2014 \u201cyou could go very easily.\u201d<\/p>\n The president of course doesn\u2019t have to purchase tickets to attend major sporting events. Trump has been to a lot of them in his second term<\/a>, including the 2025 Super Bowl<\/a>, Daytona 500<\/a> and Ryder Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n But a centerpiece of his reelection campaign was a promise to tame inflation<\/a> and bring down the price of groceries and other cost-of-living essentials. He has increasingly come under pressure<\/a> to make good on that pledge as November midterm elections<\/a> draw nearer \u2014 and as the war in Iran<\/a> has caused gas prices to spike and global commodities markets to wobble, raising new fears about inflation<\/a> and the strength of the U.S. economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n A longtime Knicks fan, Trump said on Air Force One that he watched Game 1, which New York won 105-95<\/a> in San Antonio. \u201cI think the Knicks have an amazing team the way they played,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cStarted off slow and it just got stronger and stronger,\u201d Trump said of Game 1. He pointed to Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> when asked to name his favorite player on the team.<\/p>\n Trump was also asked about Spurs star Victor Wembanyama<\/a> having stood with his arms crossed for the national anthem before Game 1. That touched off a conservative firestorm online, even though Wembanyama is French, meaning his country\u2019s anthem wasn\u2019t being played.<\/p>\n Trump was complimentary of Wembanyama, saying that he \u201clooks like he\u2019s gonna be a great player.\u201d But he ducked a chance to weigh in on the national anthem controversy, suggesting he\u2019d not seen Wembanyamba\u2019s crossed arms.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what he did? What did he mean by that?\u201d Trump asked, before recommending that reporters seek the answer from Wembanyama himself.<\/p>\n Trump confirming his attendance for Game 3 follows NBA Commissioner Adam Silver saying on Wednesday<\/a> that a presidential appearance at a finals game might be unifying in \u201cour increasingly divided society.\u201d<\/p>\n