US President Donald Trump said he would attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he does not have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who cannot afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same.
“They can watch it on television,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday as he flew to Wisconsin for an event with farmers, after he was asked about tickets that have climbed as high as US$8,000 each when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off in Manhattan for the first time in the series.
“It’s sorta semi-free to watch it on television,” Trump said. “That’s the way life goes.”
Photo: AFP
Trump said that if the Knicks were not successful — as they have not performed notably well since last advancing to the finals in 1994 — “You could go very easily.”
The president does not have to buy tickets to attend major sporting events. Trump has been to a lot of them in his second term, including last year’s Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.
However, a centerpiece of his re-election campaign was a promise to tame inflation and bring down the price of groceries and other cost-of-living essentials. He has increasingly come under pressure to make good on that pledge as November midterm elections draw nearer — and as the war in Iran has caused gas prices to spike and global commodities markets to wobble, raising new fears about inflation and the strength of the US economy.
A longtime Knicks fan, Trump said on Air Force One that he watched Game 1, which New York won 105-95 in San Antonio. “I think the Knicks have an amazing team the way they played,” he said.
“Started off slow and it just got stronger and stronger,” Trump said of Game 1. He pointed to Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns when asked to name his favorite player on the team.
Trump was asked about Spurs star Victor Wembanyama having stood with his arms crossed for the national anthem before Game 1. That touched off a conservative furor online, even though Wembanyama is French, and his national anthem was not being played.
Trump spoke well of Wembanyama, saying that he “looks like he’s gonna be a great player.” He ducked a chance to weigh in on the national anthem controversy, saying he had not seen Wembanyamba’s crossed arms.
“Is that what he did? What did he mean by that?” Trump said, before recommending that reporters seek the answer from Wembanyama himself.
Trump confirming his attendance for Game 3 follows NBA Commissioner Adam Silver saying on Wednesday that a presidential appearance at a finals game might be unifying in “our increasingly divided society.”
“It creates a sense of connectivity among people,” Silver said. “It creates a sense of belonging, and I feel that every day.”
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