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When Donald Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finalsthe crowd booed him during the national anthem, and the hometown New York Knicks lost for the first time in over a month.
The president is generally not a fan of embracing criticism, but it seems he got the hint this time.
Several outlets have now confirmed that Trump will not be in attendance for Game 4 tonight — but it looks like a different cult-beloved, highly divisive blonde billionaire will take his place.
Yes, Page six has confirmed that Taylor Swift will be in attendance at Madison Square Garden tonight.
It won’t be her first time attending a playoff game this year: Tay and fiancé Travis Kelce were on the court for one of the Knicks’ road games during their series against the Cleveland Cavs.
Travis — a Cleveland native and lifelong Cavs fan — even delighted the hometown crowd by standing and chugging a beer.
There are two important differences to tonight’s match:
First, Tay will obviously be able to cheer for the Knicks (New York is her adopted hometown, but she thrashed her fandom in Cleveland).
On top of that, it looks like Travis will not be present tonight.
“She’s a big fan of the Knicks and really wants to be there to support them. She’s going with friends,” a source told Page Six.
Travis talked about his own NBA fandom on the latest episode of his podcast, noting that he wasn’t “trying to talk 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 world of sports, which I appreciate,” he explained, adding:
“Obviously, being a Cleveland sports fan my whole life, getting Tay back to Cleveland and showing her my roots is always something I love to do.”
As for the players, it sounds like they would prefer to play in front of Taylor rather than Trump.
“I think the president being here just makes it inconvenient for everybody else. We have more, obviously more security. We have to send things 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 get screened like it’s TSA. A little inconvenient for the people who are going to play. It is what it is.”
Obviously, Taylor is almost as famous as the president, but she doesn’t want the Secret Service to shut down entire city blocks on her behalf.
And we’re sure both the players and the city of New York will appreciate it.
