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When Donald Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the crowd booed him during the National Anthem, and the hometown New York Knicks lost for the first time in over a month.
The president generally isn’t a fan of embracing criticism, but it seems that he got the hint this time.
Several outlets have now confirmed that Trump will not be in attendance at Game 4 tonight — but it looks like a different cultishly beloved, highly divisive blonde billionaire will be taking his place.
Yes, Page Six has confirmed that Taylor Swift will be on hand at Madison Square Garden tonight.
It won’t be her first time taking in a playoff game this year: Tay and fiance Travis Kelce were courtside for one of the Knicks’ away games during their series against the Cleveland Cavs.
Travis — Cleveland native and lifelong Cavs fan — even delighted the hometown crowd by standing and chugging a beer.
There are two important differences for tonight’s game:
For one thing, Tay will be able to openly cheer for the Knicks (New York is her adopted hometown, but she tamped down her fandom in Cleveland).
On top of that, it seems that Travis will not be in attendance tonight.
“She’s a huge fan of the Knicks and really wants to be there to support them. She is going with friends,” one source tells Page Six.
Travis spoke about his own NBA fandom on the latest episode of his podcast, noting that he was not “trying to persuade Taylor into being a Cleveland sports fan” with him.
“This was me just having a fun date night knowing that I love going to basketball games. We actually tried to go to a game in New York, but I was stuck in Kansas City. I love bringing her into the sports world that I appreciate,” he explained, adding:
“Obviously, being a Cleveland sports fan all my life, getting Tay back to Cleveland and showing her my roots is always something I love doing.”
As for the players, it sounds like they’ll prefer playing in front of Taylor over Trump.
“I think the president being here just makes it inconvenient on everybody else. We’ve got more, obviously more security. We’ve got to send stuff early, I think our buses are a little earlier,” Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox told Yahoo! News before Monday’s game.
“The less stuff you can bring, the better. Obviously, we’re getting screened like it’s TSA. A little inconvenient for the people that’s gotta play. It is what it is.”
Obviously, Taylor is almost as famous as the president, but she won’t have the Secret Service shutting down entire city blocks on her behalf.
And we’re sure both the players and the city of New York will appreciate that.
