{"id":13477,"date":"2026-06-09T22:33:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13477"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:33:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:33:32","slug":"its-not-just-the-knicks-trumps-attendance-at-big-games-often-spells-trouble-for-the-home-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13477","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not just the Knicks: Trump\u2019s attendance at big games often spells trouble for the home team"},"content":{"rendered":"

By WILL WEISSERT<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 If President Donald Trump is coming to the game, bet on the visiting team.<\/p>

Read more A week after Election Day, Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton address ballot-counting concerns<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll usually be in the money \u2014 at least if recent history holds.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, lost at home 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple\u2019s NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB\u2019s Washington Nationals during his first term, when the home team lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Houston Astros 7-1.<\/p>\n

In November, the president was on hand when the NFL\u2019s Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was front and center at Bethpage Black when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall\u2019s Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially obsessed with winning.<\/p>\n

Trump frequently mentions his own election victories, even boasting of a 2020 win over Joe Biden that never happened, and touts his record of endorsing winning Republican primary candidates. His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his very presence led to sustained booing before Game 3\u2019s tipoff.<\/p>

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To be fair, Trump\u2019s attendance doesn\u2019t guarantee the home team will lose.<\/p>\n

Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as the president marked the 24th anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team \u2014 though Navy wasn\u2019t playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn\u2019t a factor.<\/p>\n

That was true for his attending the U.S. Open in September and the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year\u2019s Daytona 500. Ditto for 2025s NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>

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