Trump draws boos at Madison Square Garden during National Anthem before Knicks NBA Finals Game 3

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AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now! , democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

The worlds of sports and politics collided here in New York on Monday night, just blocks from our studio, as President Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. The San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks. It was a Knicks’ first loss since late April.

Due to Trump’s appearance, authorities shut down the area around the Garden, and ticket holders were asked to arrive hours early and go through TSA -style security. Trump watched the game from a suite surrounded by bulletproof glass. During Avery Wilson’s performance at the national anthem, many in the crowd booed when Trump was shown on the jumbotron.

AVERY WILSON : Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight …

CROWD : [booing]

AMY GOODMAN : The New York Times reports the New York crowd booed Trump more than they booed the Spurs when they took the floor. Trump was also loudly booed at watch parties in the city. After the game, Trump downplayed the incident.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP : It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was — it was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.

AMY GOODMAN : To talk about this and more, we’re joined by Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine, host of the Edge of Sports podcast, his new article headlined “Not Even Trump Can Ruin the Knicks’ Moment.”

Really? Can you talk about what happened last night?

DAVE ZIRIN : Yeah. First and foremost, I was wrong. Donald Trump absolutely ruined the Knicks’ moment last night. I believe he is the reason why they lost. The game lasted about half an hour to 45 minutes longer than a usual game. It was an absolute slog. You mentioned the two- to three-hour wait to get in there, the TSA -style screenings to get into the game. It definitely had an effect on things, especially because this was supposed to be a day about the Knicks. It was supposed to be a celebration of New York. And instead it was about one authoritarian, malignant narcissist. I mean, it’s actually not a good thing that there were more boos for Trump than the Spurs, because it shouldn’t have been about Trump at all. We shouldn’t even be talking about him right now.

And I got to say something about the boos, because I was at a watch party in Brooklyn. The boos were cacophonous.

AMY GOODMAN : Where?

DAVE ZIRIN : At a bar called Chilo’s in Bed-Stuy.

AMY GOODMAN : Which you just took over.

DAVE ZIRIN : Which I just took over. We’re turning it into a place for the people, a dive bar for the people. And we had an amazing event. The boos were out into the streets. And we weren’t the only bar where you could hear it. You could choose where to hear the boos.

And to me, that was important, because it was a reminder that New York City’s relationship to Donald Trump isn’t just about contemporary politics or the last three election cycles. It’s about a 50-year abusive relationship that this city has had with this man, from his refusal to rent to people of color in the '70s to him whipping up racist violence due to the Central Park Exonerated Five case, to his desire to, quote-unquote, “develop” our parks with his tacky buildings. This city does not like this man, and we've been warning the country about him for, frankly, decades. And maybe last night was the most powerful audio and visual representation of that relationship.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The players who are — who were on the court felt about this, especially, we know, for instance, Josh Hart, back in 2020, one of the key figures on the Knicks, tweeted back before the November election, ” YESSIR !!!! GET TRUMP’S DUMB [expletive] OUT THE WHITE HOUSE !!!!!!” How do you think they felt about what was going on?

DAVE ZIRIN : Well, I think, for the Knicks — and I know this a little bit from trying to talk to people on the team — there was a bit of a resentment, because this was supposed to be a night about them, about their hard work. They’re coming in off a near-record 13-game winning streak in the playoffs. It was — it’s been the equivalent for the city of going to 13 movies and having them all be awesome. And it created a great vibe in the city. You walk in the city, it’s orange and black everywhere — I’m sorry, orange and blue everywhere, the royal blue wherever you see. And it’s been — it was supposed to be the beautiful culmination. It was the first home game in an NBA Finals for the Knicks since 1999 and their chance to go up three to nothing, which would effectively have ensured them the championship for the first time in 53 years, longer than I’ve been on this Earth. And this is the team of my youth. This is the team of my heart.

So, to see it become about Donald Trump was certainly upsetting for fans, not just the people in the well-heeled tens of thousands of dollars seats in the stadium, but the watch parties, the bars. Everybody who’s put their heart and soul into this te…