Donald Trump was booed at a basketball match in New York as he became the first sitting US president to attend the NBA Finals.
The catcalls came after frustrated ticketholders waited for hours in lines that stretched more than two blocks outside Madison Square Garden on Monday due to the intense security restrictions that came with the president’s appearance.
Trump was there to watch the New York Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the best-of-seven NBA finals. The Knicks won the first two games.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a parade of celebrities also attended the game.
Booing broke out on Monday evening when a camera showed Trump on large screens in the arena, saluting as a singer performed the national anthem.
The president attended with his granddaughter Kai Trump and Knicks owner James Dolan, along with members of his administration that included Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Republican president, who was born in the New York City borough of Queens, has had a difficult relationship with his heavily Democratic hometown.
Celebrities including Timothee Chalamet, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Spike Lee, Derek Jeter and Eli Manning filled courtside seats.
Trump, who had been at his New Jersey golf club earlier in the day, flew to downtown Manhattan by taking the Marine One helicopter. He then travelled by motorcade to the venue.
Trump’s arrival meant the streets around Madison Square Garden were shut down to foot and vehicle traffic.
Thousands of New York Police Department officers and hundreds of Secret Service officers were deployed.
Metal barriers were put up at each block as sports fans faced an airport-style gauntlet of security.
For bars in the area showing the finals game, this would normally be a lucrative night. But the barriers stopped foot traffic and left many pubs empty.
Disgruntled Knicks fans as well as regular commuters struggled to navigate the celebrations.
One New Yorker told the BBC the high security was “killing the vibe of the Knicks”.
This season has represented a stunning reversal of fortune for the Knicks, appearing in their first Finals since 1999 after decades as one of the worst teams in the league.
Manhattan was crowded with fans of the Knicks decked out in orange and blue, many watching the game in the streets and at watch parties.
The streets around popular Bryant Park were filled as fans gathered at a community watch party after one outside Madison Square Garden, where the game is happening, was cancelled due to Trump’s appearance.
People ran up and down the streets near Bryant Park, celebrating and cheering every time the Knicks scored a point. As the game started, some fans could be seen climbing scaffolding attached to buildings. Others in the busy streets crowded around a laptop to watch the game.
One 44-year-old fan, who watched the game at Bryant Park, said he was 17 years old the last time the Knicks were in finals, when like this year, they played the San Antonio Spurs.
He said the disruption caused by Trump’s visit was “very annoying”.
But not everyone was angry at Trump.
Knicks fan Anthony Pulley, 43, told AFP news agency he found the disruption annoying, but he appreciated Trump coming to the game.
“I think it really put a damper on all the watch parties,” he said. “But it’s pretty cool he wants to show up and be a part of it.”
From the Empire State Building to One World Trade Center, skyscrapers were lit up orange and blue – the Knicks’ team colours.
On the last two game nights, throngs of supporters in Knicks gear took over streets near the arena – even though their team was playing at their opponents’ arena in Texas – leading to dozens of arrests as fans climbed lampposts, jumped on to food carts, and blocked traffic.
Many fans weren’t able to afford tickets to the first series home game, with the cheapest online resale tickets going for more than $10,000 (£7,500) and going up to more than $100,000.
Regular Knicks games already rank among the most expensive in the NBA.
“That’s the way life goes,” Trump said on Friday when asked about the extreme prices. “It’s sort of semi-free to watch it on television.”
Mayor Mamdani told reporters he paid nearly $1,000 for his ticket to the game.
By BBC News
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