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President Donald Trump, 79, attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden on Monday, making him the first sitting U.S. president ever to attend an NBA Finals game.
The arena's reaction was immediate and unmistakable: as his image appeared on the overhead video board during the national anthem, he was roundly booed by the crowd of 20,000. He appeared to smirk.
When reporters asked Trump after the game about "the reception" he received from Knicks fans, he was unperturbed, or at least unwilling to concede the obvious. "I thought it was very good, yeah. It was certainly amazing," he said. "It was mostly cheers.
It was loud and it was very enthusiastic." Clips circulating on social media during the game also appeared to show the president closing his eyes for extended periods, fueling online speculation that he had dozed off.
Trump was seated in a bulletproof-glass-enclosed suite near midcourt, alongside granddaughter Kai Trump and Knicks owner James Dolan, who invited him. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joined the suite in the second quarter.
The president was spotted snacking on fries and a Diet Coke. His arrival via Marine One triggered a sweeping security lockdown that shut down surrounding streets, drew long airport-style screening lines, banned bags, and relocated free outdoor watch parties to Bryant Park, where fights and riot police were later reported.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended separately, paying $1,000 for a standing-room-only ticket near the rafters. The Spurs won 115-111, snapping the Knicks' historic 13-game postseason winning streak. Not a great night for anyone rooting for New York.