The New York Knicks have been winning so much, perhaps they’ve gotten tired of winning. Or perhaps President Trump is a bad luck charm, and everything he touches turns to tin. Who’s to say! Well, the people in and around Madison Square Garden last night, for one, had plenty to say. After his appearance at the game closed a three block by five block area of midtown Manhattan and cancelled a planned watch party outside the Garden, the President was loudly booed during the National Anthem. The New York Times writes that he “seemed to smirk in response to the boos.” Then, later, he seemed to briefly nod off, per a video obtained by The Daily Beast. And then the Knicks lost, breaking a 13-game winning streak that began on April 25.
After the game, as he was boarding Air Force One, a reporter asked Trump what he made of his reception at the game, saying, per The Daily Beast, “It was, it was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic,” which is at least partially true. He also posted a video on Truth Social of his motorcade driving down 34th street to MSG in front of a crowd of onlookers. It’s admittedly a little hard to make out what people are chanting in that clip, but it seems like it’s still a mix of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “Fuck Trump! Fuck Trump!”
Ahead of the game, commentator Stephen A. Smith complained about Trump’s presence at the game and said it would be Trump’s fault if the Knicks lost. “This is about an individual engaging in a level of narcissism that really rakes my freakin’ nerves,” said Smith, per USA Today. “He’s got no business here tonight. It has nothing to do with politics. It was everything to do with the ferver [sic] that exists around the New York Knicks and he is disrupting everything the Knicks have been vibing with.” Trump took a shot at Smith while boarding Air Force One, saying that Smith couldn’t be President because “you need a high IQ.” Maybe that was true at one point in time. But before we look to 2028, New Yorkers will spend the next 36 hours saging MSG.
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