WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� If President is coming to the game, bet on the visiting team.
You’ll usually be in the money 鈥� at least if recent history holds.
The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple’s NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.
He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB’s Washington Nationals during his first term, to the Houston Astros 7-1.
In November, the president was on hand when the NFL’s Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall’s Ryder Cup.
It鈥檚 a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially .
Trump frequently mentions his own , even boasting of a , and touts his record of . His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his before Game 3’s tipoff.
The White House called the suggestion that Trump’s attendance might not bode well for home teams 鈥渇oolish鈥� and called him 鈥渢he people’s president.鈥�
鈥淧resident Trump is the greatest champion for sports of any president in American history, and he loves them,” spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement.
To be fair, Trump’s attendance doesn’t guarantee the home team will lose.
Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team 鈥� though Navy wasn’t playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
He’s also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn’t a factor.
That was true for his in September and the 2025 in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year’s . Ditto for 2025s and the FIFA Club World Cup in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
It also won’t be an issue Sunday, when the will host a .
If the trend holds, however, it may not be great news for the U.S. national team in the , which opens Thursday.
The Americans have never made it past the semifinal stage in the tournament’s modern history anyway 鈥� and they’ll have to contend this time with Trump playing an in organizing the event. He has pledged to attend the final and award the trophy to the winning team.
Trump getting blamed for New York’s loss
Some Knicks fans have faulted the president for the Game 3 defeat, even though their team still leads the series. Game 4 will also be played in New York on Wednesday, though this time Trump isn’t expected to attend.
California Gov. , a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and frequent foil for the president, playfully picked up on the theme of Trump as a jinx, reposting a past White House post on X declaring 鈥淐all it the Trump effect鈥� alongside discussion about the Knicks’ loss.
ESPN analyst 鈥� himself mentioned as a possible future presidential hopeful 鈥� suggested before Game 3 that it’d be Trump’s fault if the Knicks didn’t win. Afterward, he said, 鈥淲hat I feared would happen ended up happening.鈥�
鈥淭he president disrupted our mojo,鈥� said Smith, a longtime Knicks fan, before adding, 鈥淭he man messed things up.鈥�
Asked after the game about Smith potentially blaming him for a Knicks loss, Trump dismissed the commentator’s political aspirations and questioned his intelligence.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,鈥� Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for his flight back to Washington early Tuesday
鈥淵ou need a high IQ. I鈥檓 not sure that Stephen has that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he does, actually.鈥�
Frequent booing hasn’t kept Trump away
Before he was a politician, Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, Knicks games, sometimes sitting courtside. His return to the Garden nonetheless drew long and loud boos when his face was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem.
In fact, he’s been roundly booed repeatedly, though it has more to do with his politics than any role he might have in jinxing the home team. Trump drew boos at the Nationals’ World Series game and during the Commanders game and the U.S. Open. At some events he’s cheered and the crowd reaction can also be mixed 鈥� though Trump just as likely to simply claim a more friendly reception than he actually gets.
After the Knicks game, the president tried to suggest that the boos were 鈥淚 think, mostly cheers.鈥� The White House similarly attempted to spin the incident into a political show of strength, posting a photo of Trump at the game with the caption 鈥淜ing of New York.鈥�
Offering a different assessment was New York’s Daily 91欧美激情 tabloid. It featured a cartoon of an exaggeratedly rotund Trump wearing a No. 38 Knicks jersey 鈥� with a bubble emerging from his mouth saying 鈥渁pproval rating.鈥�
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