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Jimmy Kimmel predicted it: Donald Trump fell asleep during Game 3 of the NBA Finals when the New York Knicks faced the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
The president was booed loudly during his appearance at Madison Square Garden, much to the delight of late-night hosts. On “The Daily Show,” host Desi Lydic joked that the city gave “President Donald Jump Shot Trump” a “typical New York welcome.”
“Do you know what it means when every single person in New York boos you?” she said. “Even a guy doing his business on the subway can still find a New Yorker cheering him on.”
Lydiac on Trump’s nap
She noted, “Whether you like Trump’s presence or not, he’s a lifelong Knicks fan, so he didn’t let a few whiners stop him from enjoying every second of the game.” The show then cut to a clip showing Trump apparently falling asleep. “Sir, you can’t sleep during the game,” Lydic commented. “You are the president, not referee Mark Davis from game three.”
Kimmel, who had already sensed Trump’s nod, reflected on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” about the president’s decision to attend the finals. “Donald Trump, the biggest celebrity of them all, made history last night by becoming the first sitting president to shut down a major American city to take a nap in front of a packed house at the NBA Finals,” Kimmel said. “This was a bad idea from the start and went about as poorly as possible for Trump.”
The host described how fans had to wait in line for “hours” to get through all the security checks and how many people brought posters and signs against the president. “The question on everyone’s mind was, ‘Will the president be booed at the Garden?'” Kimmel said. “The team didn’t want that, so they thought of a clever thing: show him on the jumbotron during the national anthem, when booing is considered inappropriate. That strategy didn’t work at all.”
Historic booing in the Garden
He added, after playing a clip of the boos: “This is said to be the loudest booing by a president at a sporting event since Abe Lincoln did the coin toss at the Cotton Bowl. But it didn’t affect his appetite – that’s the good news.”
The president was later caught on camera possibly sleeping after spending “who knows how many millions of taxpayer dollars to get there and then he just goes to sleep.”
“Who falls asleep at the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden?” Kimmel added. “You know how out of touch you must be? I hope Joe Biden saw that last night and laughed his ass off.”
Trump’s curse for the Knicks
Kimmel noted that the Knicks had lost – and blamed the president for it. “They were on a 13-game winning streak until Trump showed up,” Kimmel said. “Basically, he did the same thing to the Knicks last night that he will do to the Republicans in Congress in November: He jinxed them.”
On “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon opened his monologue by saying, “Welcome to New York City, the city that never sleeps. Well, except for this one.” After showing a picture of Trump sleeping, he added: “Yes, President Trump slept in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night at Madison Square Garden. And the Knicks fans are blaming him for the loss. Trump doesn’t want to take the blame, so he called the NBA today and demanded they add five more points to the team.”
Fallon joked, “There is at least one bright side for Trump: His approval rating in San Antonio is now 100 percent.”