So Trump ruined the game for fans. That will do wonders for his popularity!
In the middle of the national anthem, moments before the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden in 27 years, President Donald J. Trump stood at attention in his suite, surrounded by bulletproof glass, and was roundly booed by his fellow New Yorkers as he was shown on the overhanging video board.
The first sitting U.S. president to attend a finals game, Trump, 79, of New York, was booed louder than the San Antonio Spurs. He was shown long enough for the fans lustily booing him to see him smirk.
Attaboy. Ruin people’s day and then smirk.
And then the Knicks dropped Game 3, 115-111. It was their first playoff loss since April 23 and snapped a historic 13-game winning streak. It just didn’t go well for anyone rooting for New York, from Penn Station to Pennsylvania Ave.
The massive amount of extra security needed for a president to sit indoors with 20,000 hoops fans became an inconvenience for the city and a defining storyline going into the game — with extraordinarily long lines to get in, the no-bag policy and canceled watch parties outside of the Garden.
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Police and Secret Service agents set up a wide security perimeter around the Garden starting at 4 p.m. No one without a ticket or work credentials could get through the fences restricting access, and then they were made to stand in long, airport security-like lines to get into the arena. Fans were prohibited from bringing bags, and Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said players were asked to limit what they brought into the arena and were searched by Secret Service agents upon entering the arena.
Footage of 7-foot-4 French star Victor Wembanyama being screened in a pair of shorts after getting off the Spurs bus made waves on social media.
A free Knicks watch party for fans without tickets was relocated from outside the Garden to Bryant Park, where there were reports of fights and police in riot gear near the end of the game. Numerous videos taken from the park showed fans booing Trump as he appeared on projector screens. Some bars inside the security perimeter were boarded up for the evening.
“I think the president being here makes it inconvenient on everybody else,” Fox said. “We have more security, we had to send stuff early, I think our buses are getting there a little early.”
Whatever. Inconvenience to thousands of people is nothing compared to Trump’s evening out.
On the U.S. Senate floor in Washington on Monday, Charles Schumer, Democrat from New York, said, “Tonight ought to be all about the game, the players and the fans. But Donald Trump wants to make tonight about himself, like he always does.
“Midtown has to shut down. Bars near the Garden are about to take a huge hit on what should be their biggest night of the year. And free watch parties near the Garden have been canceled because Trump can’t bear letting anyone else be the center of attention for one night.”
It’s true you know. All the upheaval and cancelation and fuss is not a downside for Trump, it’s a key part of the fun. Thousands of people pushed around and disappointed, and one greedy selfish man happy. Life as it should be.
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