President Donald Trump plans to attend the first NBA Finals game in nearly three decades at Madison Square Garden, and panelists on MS NOW's "Morning Joe" predicted he would not find a friendly reception from his hometown.
The New York Knicks will face off Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs in game 3 of the Finals, which will require fans to wait in extra-long security lines to enter the arena and forced the cancellation of a watch party outside, all of which will anger the crowd inside, according to the panelists.
"The whole idea of we areliving at a time in whicheverything must be about him," said journalist Pablo Torre. "This is why this sucks. There is a story, it existed, and, of course it couldnot last. Nothing gold canlast. As I say, it existed inthis beautiful snow globe ofsports and city, and in comesthe president, and I get it. You've got to provide security, itdoesn't make sense to have thegreatest party in sportshappening outside, because, ofcourse there are dangers. I'mnot saying that the presidentdoes not deserve protection. Itis merely that by inviting himand choosing to favor his whimsover the city, you're making achoice that isfrankly reflected in everythingelse happening in sports andlife, in which billionaires getto be prioritized, fast-passedinto the heart of somethinggreat."
Trump has gone to a number of sporting events as president and attended the occasional Knicks home game before entering politics, but host Jonathan Lemire doesn't expect New Yorkers to welcome him back with open arms.
"Dothey show him on the jumbotron?" Lemire wondered. "How many times do they show himon TV, and in that arena, ifthey do show him, what is thereception? What is the volumeof boos he's going to face? Itcould be it could be off thecharts."
Author Michael Tomasky agreed.
"I imagine the ticket pricesare going to put a few more Republicans in the seats thannormal," Tomasky said. "But what's his approvalrating among that crowd in Madison Square Garden tonight? Fifteen percent? Maybe 15."
"It's going to be as loud aseries of boos as we'll have heard," Torre interjected.
"I don'tunderstand why he'd even wantto do this," Tomasky added. "I know if that wereme, I wouldn't. I wouldn't comeclose to the place and theinconveniencing of the people."
"I mean, he does liketo associate himself with thewinner," Lemire suggested. "The Knicks are winning.He likes to be part of thestoryline. The Knicks are thestoryline right now in thesports world, you know, and Ido think that even the richguys who the Republicans whomight have voted for Donald Trump are still, will have justhad to stand in line for threehours, and they're going to beannoyed by that, too."