Social media users mocked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after she posted a video of President Donald Trump at the U.S. Open on X a day after he garnered boos from the crowd.
The press secretary, 28, gushed over her boss, captioning the post “The People’s President and the coolest boss ever. Signing hats for fans at the #USOpen.”
Trump, who was present at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens for the men’s singles final of the Grand Slam on Sunday, garnered loud boos and some cheers from the crowd.
Leavitt’s post showed Trump autographing hats, including a signature “Make America Great Again” red cap, before tossing them into the crowd.
While MAGA supporters joined Leavitt in fawning over Trump as the “People’s President,” critics reminded the press secretary that the crowd at the U.S. Open had a less than favorable reaction to Trump.
“He is signing hats for the people that booed him?,” one user wrote. “He got booed for a minute straight,” said another user.
President Trump garnered boos and cheers at the US Open. Evelyn Hockstein/Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
Trump’s appearance at the yearly tennis championship marks the first time in a decade that the president has attended the event. The president arrived with members of his Cabinet including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Leavitt, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and granddaughter Arabella Kushner were also present alongside the president.
Trump’s attendance created massive delays from the additional security measures in place, postponing the match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz by 30 minutes.
The U.S. Open announced on X that “to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats,” the match’s start time was pushed back to 2:30 PM EST.
As a result of the security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats, we have pushed the start time of today’s match to 2:30 pm ET.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2025
The delays triggered long lines and even caused some attendees to miss parts of the tennis match.
According to the Associated Press, Trump was seen smirking on the Jumbotron during the National Anthem, which made the boos louder. The president remained stoic for most of the match, even as Alcaraz scored against Sinner.
According to journalist Ben Rothenberg, the U.S. Tennis Association emailed broadcasters in a preemptive attempt to censor negative coverage of the president.
President Trump autographed hats and tossed them into the crowd at the US Open after causing delays. Geoff Burke/Geoff Burke-Imagn Images/Reuters Connect
“With respect to Broadcast Coverage, the President will be shown on the World Feed and the Ashe Court Feed during the opening anthem ceremony,” said the email. “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for additional comment.