Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) tried to score points off Donald Trump's appearance at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. And, oh boy, did it backfire spectacularly.
Monday's press conference gave the House Minority Leader a stage, and he used it to attack Trump’s planned appearance at the game and to question whether Trump was even a true Knicks fan.
"I think Knicks fans just want to enjoy Game 3, the first home [NBA Finals] game that we've had in 27 years," Jeffries said. "But it also is not clear to me that Donald Trump is a big Knicks fan. I mean, does this guy even know the difference between Karl Rove and Karl Anthony Towns? I don't think so. He's just injecting himself into the NBA Finals because he always has to bring the MAGA circus into town, and that's unfortunate."
The problem with Jeffries’ claim is that Trump is, in fact, a longtime Knicks fan, and there is photographic and video evidence of Trump attending Knicks games going back decades.
NEW YORK - CIRCA 1993: Donald Trump looks on during an New York Knicks NBA Basketball game circa 1993 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan Borough of New York City. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
— Apple Lamps (@lamps_apple) June 8, 2026
New York, N.Y.: Donald Trump attends the New York Knicks game with… https://t.co/sYd9Pka3zX pic.twitter.com/y0dTsgTwUf
— Apple Lamps (@lamps_apple) June 8, 2026
pic.twitter.com/PDHOspenZI nah he’s a not Knick Fan? 😂. “Dime Store Obama” is the big Knick Fan that’s never been seen at a single game….
— Louis Buchalter (@lepke2112) June 8, 2026
Heck, even CNN mocked the idea that Trump isn’t a true New York sports fan:
Trump is the BOSS 🏀 pic.twitter.com/2Ihwx0Ompw
— Politikal Kat-Tales (@PolitiKatTales) June 8, 2026
Then NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, not exactly a Trump surrogate, finished it off entirely.
"I've been with the league for a long time," Silver said. "I ran NBA Entertainment years ago. He did an I love game spot with us. He had courtside seats. He was here all the time. He was at the draft. So he's a genuine Knicks fan."
.@NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: President Trump was a fixture at Madison Square Garden. He had courtside seats. He was here all the time, he was at Drafts — so he's a genuine @nyknicks fan. pic.twitter.com/Cxb1fU8cfM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 9, 2026
A genuine Knicks fan. Certified by the commissioner of the NBA.
What’s the point of even questioning Trump’s fandom? It’s stupid, and Democrats only embarrass themselves when they try. Heck, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) set this same trap for herself when Trump's plans to attend the game were first made public. She posed what she thought was a clever trivia challenge. "I'd ask him to name the starting lineup of the 1993 championship team and see how he does," Hochul said.
“I’d ask him to name the starting lineup of the 1993 Championship team and see how he does."
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 27, 2026
New York Governor Kathy Hochul forgot that the Knicks last won in 1973 when asked about Donald Trump's Knicks fandom. 😬 pic.twitter.com/ouFbEiGYQE
The Knicks didn't win the championship in 1993. Their last title came in 1973. Hochul's gotcha question exposed a gap in her own knowledge of the franchise she was pretending to defend.
Democrats questioning anyone's sports credibility is well-trodden comedy territory. In 2004, Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry called the Green Bay Packers' home stadium "Lambert Field" instead of Lambeau Field. He also named his favorite Red Sox slugger as "Manny Ortez," an apparent mashup of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Kerry was performing fandom, and it showed.
That's the pattern here. The far left can't accept that Trump is genuine about much of anything, so the instinct is to attack first and check facts later. Jeffries grabbed a talking point and humiliated himself in the process.
And in the end, was any of this worth it? Trump went to a basketball game. Attacking him for it was always going to be a losing play.
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