{"id":691440,"date":"2026-06-08T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/691440\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:00:22","slug":"knicks-fans-blast-donald-trump-after-madison-square-garden-cancels-nba-watch-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/691440\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Fans Blast Donald Trump After Madison Square Garden Cancels NBA Watch Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s planned appearance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals is already getting a hostile home-court reception from Knicks<\/a> fans\u2014including ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 79-year-old president is set to grab a seat at Madison Square Garden for Monday\u2019s Game 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> after receiving an invitation from team owner James Dolan.<\/p>\n

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But Trump\u2019s attendance is expected to bring significant security disruptions. Fans have been told to arrive two hours before tipoff and comply with a strict no-bag policy in a joint announcement by MSG and the Secret Service.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals is creating headaches for New York Knicks fans. \/ X\/NY Knicks<\/p>\n

Even those hoping to soak up the atmosphere outside MSG have seen their plans derailed, with surrounding streets closed and the popular watch party outside the venue canceled<\/a> because of the president\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

Fans are furious over the disruptions and are pleading with Trump to stay home.<\/p>\n

The Knicks fan account Knicks Memes blasted Trump for spoiling the experience for fans who have waited for the franchise\u2019s first NBA Finals home game since 1999.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who you voted for,\u201d the account wrote<\/a>. \u201cBanning the great vibes outside MSG before, during & after games, especially on a night the Knicks play their first NBA Finals Home Game in 27 years, objectively sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Knicks currently lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 and are just two wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973. \/ Knicks Memes\/X<\/p>\n

\u201cNational security is important, but this sucks,\u201d the fan account added.<\/p>\n

Many pointed out that the now-canceled watch party had offered a way for those unable to afford tickets\u2014which start at more than $9,000 apiece\u2014to still cheer on their team and soak up the atmosphere at MSG.<\/p>\n

One fan fumed<\/a>, \u201cI really hate that weirdo making the Finals about himself right now! Nobody wants you there, you\u2019re ruining the vibe and now there\u2019s no watch party for the fans! He\u2019s not a Knicks fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Many<\/p>\n

Many fans predicted that the president would get booed loudly by the crowd in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. \/ Ivan Reveles\/X<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another Knicks fan account fumed that Trump\u2019s attendance would turn MSG into \u201cLaGuardia during a TSA strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cTrump forcing everyone else to arrive two hours early just so he can attend is going to suck all the energy out of the Garden and kill our home court advantage, and I\u2019m not kidding,\u201d the fan account THE GARDEN IS ROCKING wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we take the coolest thing to ever happen to New York City and make it feel more like LaGuardia during a TSA strike?\u201d the account continued\u2014alluding to the \u201cTSA-style screening procedures\u201d fans have been warned to expect.<\/p>\n

\"Many<\/p>\n

Many are worried that Trump\u2019s attendance will make entering the stadium a security nightmare, with sports commentator Stephen A. Smith saying, \u201cIt has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that\u2019s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden.\u201d \/ @MSG_Rocking\/X<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Trump, who officially left New York City for Palm Beach in 2019, shrugged when asked about the soaring ticket prices for the finals showdown he plans to attend\u2014telling those who are priced out to watch the game from home.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe cheapest price for the Game 3 you\u2019re going to is $8,000,\u201d a reporter told the president aboard Air Force One on Friday. \u201cEveryday Americans can\u2019t afford these sporting events.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I know, but they can watch it on television,\u201d the president said curtly. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of semi-free to watch it on television.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way life goes,\u201d he added. \u201cIf the team wasn\u2019t a big success, you could go very easily. So, you know, you can, you can do that too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Knicks are going into Game 3 of the best-of-seven series 2-0, just two wins away from their first NBA championship since 1973.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump\u2019s planned appearance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals is already getting a hostile home-court…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":691441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[12,25169,15050,40813,5489,2116,99,123393],"class_list":["post-691440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-donald-trump","tag-knicks","tag-madison-square-garden","tag-msg","tag-nba-finals","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports","tag-watch-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}