Insider spills on Trump’s fragile ego after NBA game: ‘Getting booed really gets to him’

President Donald Trump made his way to his home city of New York Monday to attend the NBA Finals game only to be met with thunderous boos by basketball fans, which, according to a former senior Trump administration official, genuinely upsets him.

“Getting booed in public really gets to him,” said the ex-senior Trump official, speaking with Zeteo for its report Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. “When I worked with him, he would sometimes call me to complain about it, sometimes when I was trying to go to bed.”

Trump’s announcement that he would be attending the NBA Finals game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs sparked immediate backlash – including from prominent conservatives – over the disruptions his presence would cause to thousands of New Yorkers. Knicks fans told Trump over the weekend to instead “stay home,” and New Yorkers greeted Trump’s motorcade with “the loudest set of boos ever heard,” Balls & Strikes Editor in Chief Jay Willis claimed.

And, according to a current White House official, it was well-known among those around the president that his attendance would be met with hostility.

“We are headed into hostile territory,” said a White House official ahead of the NBA Finals game, also speaking with Zeteo on the condition of anonymity.

As to why Trump would knowingly subject himself to such a public display of disapproval and “generate fodder for [his] enemies,” Zeteo’s Asawin Suebsaeng presented a theory.

“Trump knew how big a deal Monday’s basketball game was, and his Blob-like ego couldn’t help but try to bask in the glow (the Knicks lost, by the way; and while it may be unfair to blame Trump, Knicks fans are not notblaming him),” Suebsaeng wrote.

“Never mind that seemingly no one in the crowd wanted him there, and that people in attendance and outside the arena apparently agreed with the solid majority of Americans that his administration resplendently sucks. When the masses boo, it affects him. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”