The White House hailed Donald Trump as the 'King of New York' on social media, just hours after thousands of fans at Madison Square Garden loudly booed the president when he appeared on the Jumbotron during the NBA Finals. In a single night, New York's basketball cathedral became the stage for a very public clash between what the cameras captured in the arena and how the moment was portrayed online by the administration.
On the night of 9 June 2026, President Donald Trump made history as the first sitting United States president to attend an NBA Finals game. He walked into Madison Square Garden flanked by Cabinet members, sat beside Knicks owner James Dolan, and was promptly met with one of the loudest crowd rejections of his political career. The White House's official account on X then posted a message hailing him as the 'King of New York'. The boos, however, were already on video, and the internet had seen them.
