Donald Trump became the first sitting United States president to attend an NBA Finals game on Monday at Madison Square Garden, and as expected, ESPN and ABC ultimately did show the president during the broadcast.
The first view of Trump came during the pregame national anthem, when ABC cut to the glass-enclosed, Secret Service-protected suite where the president was sitting. Inside the arena, the production team appeared to show the same shot at the same time, as the MSG crowd could be heard loudly booing the Queens native as he smiled back at them.
Later, coming out of a timeout during the second quarter, lead ESPN on ABC NBA announcer Mike Breen noted Trump’s presence at the game alongside Knicks owner James Dolan.
“Tonight, President Donald Trump becomes the first United States president to attend an NBA Finals game,” Breen said. “Longtime Knick fan. Certainly liked what he saw here.”
Then, Breen teed up a highlight for game analyst Tim Legler to break down.
Despite significant security measures in lower Manhattan to protect Trump, some of which restricted the viewing parties that have become commonplace around the city during the Knicks’ run, the game started on time.
Before the game, Front Office Sports reported that following suit with previous appearances by Trump and other presidents at sporting events it aired, ESPN would show Trump on the broadcast. At last year’s US Open, also in New York, ESPN chose not to alter its usual strategy despite a request from the USTA to censor Trump’s presence at the tournament.
However, also in line with the network’s typical approach, Breen and ESPN kept the acknowledgement brief at Game 3 on Monday night.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.