06/05/26 04:02:00
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06/05 16:01 CDT Can't afford sky-high tickets to see the Knicks in person?
Trump says 'watch it on television'
Can't afford sky-high tickets to see the Knicks in person? Trump says 'watch it
on television'
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) --- President Donald Trump confirmed he will attend
Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he
doesn't have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who can't afford
sky-high ticket prices to do the same.
"They can watch it on television," Trump told reporters on 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 $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," the president added. "That's
the way life goes."
Trump further noted that if the Knicks weren't successful --- as they haven't
been most seasons since last advancing to the finals in 1999 --- "you could go
very easily."
The president of course doesn't have to purchase tickets to attend major
sporting events. Trump has been to a lot of them in his second term, including
the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.
But a centerpiece of his reelection 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 U.S. 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 also asked about Spurs star Victor Wembanyama having stood with his
arms crossed for the national anthem before Game 1. That touched off a
conservative firestorm online, even though Wembanyama is French, meaning his
country's anthem wasn't being played.
Trump was complimentary of Wembanyama, saying that he "looks like he's gonna be
a great player." But he ducked a chance to weigh in on the national anthem
controversy, suggesting he'd not seen Wembanyamba's crossed arms.
"Is that what he did? What did he mean by that?" Trump asked, 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."
___
Weissert reported from Washington.
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An earlier version of this story said the Knicks were last in the NBA Finals in
1994. The last year the team competed in the Finals was 1999.
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