President Donald Trump was met with loud boos from fans inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday after he appeared on the arena’s jumbo screens during the national anthem, becoming the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.
Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” filled the arena as Avery Wilson performed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but the chants turned to jeers the moment Trump appeared on screen giving a military salute. The booing stopped when the US flag replaced his image and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown.
Trump, however, dismissed the reception. “It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he told reporters after the game before boarding Air Force One back to Washington. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic”.
The president watched Game 3 from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite alongside his granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum.
He sat next to Dolan during the first quarter and spent part of the second in conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman.
Trump traveled to the game via Marine One from his New Jersey home, landing near Wall Street before his motorcade moved through Manhattan to the arena about an hour before tipoff. He encountered a few people making obscene gestures along the way, and a group outside the arena held signs reading “Trump must go”.
