Bryan
Armen Graham and Ella Brockway at Madison Square Garden
Mon 8 Jun
2026 20.45 EDT
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 between the San Antonio
Spurs and New York Knicks.
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. 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.
The US
president, a longtime Knicks fan, attended as the guest of team owner James
Dolan 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’s
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’s granddaughter Kai. Later in Monday’s game,
which the Knicks lost 115-111, Trump appeared to fall asleep.
The
hostile reception comes as little surprise. NBA fans skew liberal and the
Knicks play in a city that firmly backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential
election.
Trump’s
appearance added another layer of spectacle to a city already in the thrall of
basketball fever. 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.
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.
By
midday, dozens of fans were already queueing to pass through metal detectors
manned by Secret Service agents to access the team store.
“He could
have picked any other day. This night is for the fans,” said Joanne Cadden, 53,
a Knicks supporter from the Bronx who has followed the team since the early
1990s. “You’re making people go away from the Garden. This wasn’t the time.”
Gesturing
toward the fencing and checkpoints surrounding the arena, Cadden added: “This
looks like prison.”
Not every
fan objected to Trump’s attendance, but many said it had altered the atmosphere
around one of the biggest nights in the team’s history.
Rich
Becker, a 54-year-old Knicks fan from Queens who came to Midtown despite not
having a ticket, said the president’s visit had changed the feel of the day,
including the cancellation of the outdoor watch party that had drawn thousands
of fans outside the Garden during earlier playoff games.
“It
changed everything,” Becker said. “Should he be here? I don’t think he should,
but he’s coming. He used to be a Knicks fan. He spent a lot of time at the
Garden back in the day. But now it’s a little different. Just stay away.”
Becker
said he worried the extensive screening procedures could affect the atmosphere
inside the building.
“There is
some concern,” he said. “Not everybody’s going to be in their seats by
tip-off.”
Beginning
at around 4pm, authorities sealed off several blocks around the arena, creating
what NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch described as a “frozen zone”. 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.
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’s Wollman Rink, would go ahead as planned. The watch party outside
MSG was expected to return for Game 4 on Wednesday.
The
precautions echoed scenes from Trump’s appearance at last year’s US Open men’s
final 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.
The
heightened security followed massive celebrations around the Garden after New
York’s 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’ win.
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 game.
While
Trump has become a regular presence at major sporting events 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’ 1990s glory years.
Trump’s
appearance also placed two of the city’s most prominent political figures under
one roof. New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani was also in attendance. He told
reporters earlier in the day that he bought a standing-room only ticket from
Madison Square Garden for about $1,000.
Other
prominent names at Madison Square Garden on Monday included Knicks fans Spike
Lee, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Jon Stewart and Tracy Morgan.
For Tom
Meade, 76, who attended Knicks playoff games during the franchise’s
championship era and brought his son Tommy to Monday’s game, the fences,
checkpoints and presidential motorcade were ultimately secondary to the
occasion itself.
“This is
amazing,” Meade said as fans streamed toward the Garden. “The only thing close
to it was the Willis Reed and Walt Frazier years. Those championship teams [in
1970 and 1973].”
The
heightened security was “a nuisance”, he added, “but we’re here to enjoy the
game and the Knicks.”
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