President Donald Trump arrived at Madison Square Garden on Monday night for Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals and heard boos from the Knicks faithful.
Trump is a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan and there were many security measures that were put in place. Because of them, fans and media members had to go through them hours before tipoff.
The president was spotted getting out of his limousine. As he waved to people, there were boos but also some cheers for Trump.
An NBA fan page shared a clip from ABC Sports' telecast on Monday night, where fans booed Trump as he saluted during the national anthem. The post was captioned on X , "Trump getting booed at the Knicks game."
Legion Hoops' account on X shared a video of Trump arriving as a number of New York Police Department police cars escort him to Madison Square Garden. Legion Hoops wrote on X, "New Yorkers cheer and boo as President Donald Trump arrives to Madison Square Garden This is historic."
Trump's visit to the 2026 NBA Finals marks the first time that a sitting president has done so. There have been a number of voices critical of Trump appearing at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks hold a 2-0 lead over the Spurs and are playing an NBA Finals home game for the first time since 1999. There was a bevy of celebrities in attendance, too. Trump, though, was not sitting courtside and appeared in a box atop the Garden.
Trump has mentioned on multiple occasions that he's a Knicks fan and has even praised the current roster.
The Knicks are looking to sweep the Spurs and win their first NBA championship since 1973. Fans were ready to cheer their team from the get-go. With legendary Knicks like Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson , John Starks, and others at the game on Monday night, it felt like a big-time game that had meaning far beyond the NBA Finals.
Early on, the Spurs jumped out to an 11-point lead. But the Knicks have been a comeback team throughout the NBA playoffs. If they can come back again on their home court, then it's going to be party time for those long-suffering Knicks fans.
Jalen Brunson and Co. don't want to go back to San Antonio , so they're going to try to bring the brooms out in 4 games.
