President Donald Trump reportedly plans to attend Monday night’s NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks are hosting the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3, with the Big Apple franchise coming two games up from their trip to the Lone Star state.
President Trump is a native of New York City, and not only is he a native, but his business career is directly tied to the city’s 1980s and ’90s real estate developments. Nonetheless, ever since he jumped onto the political stage a decade ago, his popularity in New York City has tanked. He hasn’t won the city in any of the presidential elections he has participated in.
On “First Take” on Monday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a New Yorker himself, expressed his disappointment with the president’s planned appearance:
“This president has no business showing up in New York City. I am dead serious. It is selfish. It is narcissistic. It is ridiculous that he is coming to this game.”
Smith immediately explained that he disagrees with the appearance, not on a political basis, but on how the appearance of the nation’s most important public official will warp proceedings at Madison Square Garden.
He highlighted that, unlike football stadiums, where presidents have regularly made appearances, Madison Square Garden is not prepared to handle this kind of logistics. Football stadiums tend to be located at a city’s outskirts, while Madison Square Garden is located in the heart of Manhattan, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and alongside Pennsylvania Station.
Smith said that he would be against Barack Obama, Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan making such an appearance.
Does President Donald Trump have a knack for making appearances at sporting events?
President Donald Trump seems to relish the opportunity of making public appearances at sporting events. Just in his second term, he has already attended the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the US Open men’s final, the College Football National Championship, the Army-Navy game and the FIFA Club World Cup final.
Trump has attended the Army-Navy game six times — in his first and second terms and as a private citizen. He is also a regular sight at college football games and UFC events. He’s expected to be present for several games of the FIFA World Cup later this summer, as the tournament is being hosted by the United States, alongside Mexico and Canada.
He’s set to become the first-ever sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game this Monday night.
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