Trump gets cold hometown welcome at NBA Finals in New York
Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game
Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday (June 8, 2026) night. Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited loud boos. Trump is watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Ms. Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet Secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He is the first sitting President to attend an NBA Finals game. Trump’s Marine One helicopter flew from his home in New Jersey and landed near Wall Street before his motorcade made its way up through Manhattan and to the arena roughly an hour before tipoff. He encountered a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying “Trump must go.” He settled into Mr. Dolan's suite shortly afterward. During the afternoon before Mr. Trump's arrival, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden. Fans lined up to get inside the arena more than four hours before tipoff, in a scene more closely resembling New Year’s Eve in Times Square than the usual leadup to a basketball game.
They were required to provide a ticket or pass to get past various checkpoints, along with going through a Transportation Security Administration-style magnetometer. Secret Service personnel and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers. Daily commuters, tourists visiting Manhattan and fans were all confounded at various times as they tried to maneuver the security. After traveling from his new home in Florida for the game, Knicks fan Greg Weldon said the main inconvenience faced so far has been the lack of information. “We’ve asked so many cops, secret service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.” Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs counterpart Mitch Johnson downplayed any concept of being inconvenienced by the closures and enhanced security because of Mr. Trump. “There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not,” Johnson said. With security stepped up, a watch party outside was canceled, and ticket-holders were not allowed to bring bags inside the Garden. Fans had gathered near the arena to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973. “We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Monday (June 8, 2026).
The BriefWire