Donald Trump was loudly booed during the US national anthem at Madison Square Garden last night.
Chants of ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ gave way to deafening jeers when the president was shown on the jumbo screens ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.
Trump was seen smiling while holding a salute amid the booing throughout the packed area.
Speaking to reporters as he prepared to depart from JFK airport in New York, he said: It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.’
The Spurs beat the Knicks 115-111 to cut New York’s series lead to 2-1.
It was the latest major sporting event Trump has attended during his time as president, and the security measures created major headaches for fans.
Some spent up to four hours queuing outside before the game.
Errol Ismail, a Brooklyn resident and owner of a fitness company, said: ‘I wish he wasn’t here. He’s not a real fan, and he’s just making things awful.
‘We’ve waited a lifetime for this, and he’s made it about himself, like everything else.’
During the afternoon before Trump’s arrival, the New York Police Department and the US Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden.
Fans 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 staff and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers.
Daily commuters, tourists visiting Manhattan and fans were all bewildered at various times as they tried to navigate the large-scale security operation.
Federal law enforcement officials have been re-examining Trump’s security in light of three apparent assassination attempts in the past two years.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries were also at the game, as were Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning of the Giants.
It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices.
The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $5,000.
The best seats were listed for tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket, which he said was standing-room-only, for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.
Queens-born Trump has a difficult relationship with the heavily Democratic-voting city he once called home and was a vocal critic of activism within the NBA, accusing the league of becoming a ‘political organisation’ as many players protested racial injustice in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
He faced cheers and boos when he attended the US Open tennis men’s final in Flushing, Queens, last year.
Many ticket-holders missed the start of the match when security checks related to his attendance caused confusion and slowed entry.
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