The New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, and the whole city should be celebrating.
Instead, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) decided to spend his time on CNN complaining about who bought a ticket.
And what he said about Donald Trump heading to Madison Square Garden will leave you shaking your head.
Trump Gets Invited, Jeffries Gets Triggered
President Donald Trump confirmed recently that Knicks owner James Dolan personally invited him to Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Trump, a lifelong New Yorker and self-described Knicks fan, didn’t hesitate. “The answer is yes — he’s invited me, I’m going,” Trump told reporters.
And why wouldn’t he go? Trump grew up in Queens. He was a courtside fixture at Knicks games for decades. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver noted that Trump “attended multiple NBA drafts when they were held at Madison Square Garden” and even appeared in an “I love this game” commercial produced by NBA Entertainment. Silver himself was enthusiastic. “President Trump is very much a New Yorker,” Silver said. “I’m thrilled another New Yorker wants to participate in the enthusiasm and the joy around this Knicks team.”
The NBA also confirmed that Trump’s attendance would make him the first sitting president in history to attend an NBA Finals game. That’s a pretty big deal for New York, for the Knicks, and for the sport.
Hakeem Jeffries sees it differently.
The Meltdown on CNN
CNN anchor John Berman asked Jeffries how he thought Knicks fans would react when Trump is introduced at the arena. Jeffries didn’t exactly offer a warm welcome.
“Why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing?” Jeffries said. “Like literally, the Knicks haven’t been in the NBA Finals for 27 years. The city is trying to celebrate this. We’ve embraced this team, and this guy has to inject himself.”
He kept going.
“I mean, come on, seriously, give us a break. Why doesn’t this guy just focus on trying to improve the quality of life of the American people? Because the Trump economy has been a disaster.”
That last part is rich coming from a Democrat who has spent the last several years cheerleading for the Biden economy, which actually was a disaster — record inflation, sky-high grocery bills, and interest rates that put homeownership out of reach for millions of working Americans. Trump came back in and started fixing it. But sure, Hakeem.
Berman also asked Jeffries whether he planned to attend the game himself. That’s where it gets a little awkward. Jeffries said Congress is in session and he’d be watching from Washington, D.C. “But I hope to gather with a group of friends and colleagues and, you know, watch the Knicks be successful in both Game 3 and Game 4 in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden,” Jeffries said.
So the man who called Trump’s attendance an unwanted intrusion isn’t even going to the game.
A Real Fan Versus a Political Grandstander
Trump’s connection to the Knicks goes back a long time. He attended Game 3 of the 1994 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, the last time New York made a Finals run before this one. He was part of a 2010 recruiting push organized by Dolan to try to lure LeBron James to New York. He has talked about the team, rooted for the team, and been spotted at games going back decades.
Before Game 1 of this series, Trump told the New York Post: “The Knicks have really suffered for years and they’re doing right now very well.”
But Jeffries wants to treat a sitting president showing up to root for his hometown team in a historic moment as some kind of outrage. It’s hard to take seriously.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, no fan of Trump’s, at least handled it with a little more grace. “We’re excited to welcome anyone and everyone who’s rooting for the Knicks in this moment,” Mamdani said. He confirmed he’d also attend Game 3, just in a different section of the arena.
That’s about as close to a unifying statement as New York City politics produces these days.
What This Is Really About
Jeffries isn’t upset that Trump is attending a basketball game. He’s upset because Trump showing up at Madison Square Garden — the most famous arena in the world, in the heart of a city Democrats have owned politically for generations — undercuts the narrative that the country has turned against him.
A packed MSG crowd cheering for the same team as Donald Trump doesn’t fit the story the Left has been selling. And if Trump gets a warm reception, even a mixed one, that’s a problem for Jeffries and the Democrat Party heading into the midterms.
So instead of letting New Yorkers enjoy a once-in-a-generation sports moment, Jeffries grabbed a CNN microphone and tried to poison the well before the opening tip.
The Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the Finals and grabbed Game 1 on the road in San Antonio, 105-95. The series now comes home to New York with the Knicks holding a 1-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs. Game 3 will be the first NBA Finals game played in New York City since 1999.
And the President of the United States will be in the building for it.
Jeffries can watch from his couch in Washington, D.C.
Sources: Fox News/OutKick; Mediaite; Yahoo Sports; ESPN; NBA.com; CBS News