President Donald Trump appeared eager to be at the Knicks game, but cameras seemed to capture him nodding off during the event.
Trump, who has long supported the Knicks, had a difficult night at Game 3 of the finals. His team’s 13-game playoff winning run was brought to an end.
There was also a hostile reception for the President at Madison Square Garden, where he was met with loud boos soon after arriving for what was his first live Knicks game in years.
To make matters worse, the 79-year-old did not appear especially engaged at one point, with footage suggesting he briefly drifted off.
While seated in the arena, Trump was seen with his hands clasped as his eyes appeared to close slowly before he opened them again and glanced around.
The clip, which has since spread across social media, shows Trump sitting in a private box alongside Knicks owner James Dolan.
Some fans were unimpressed, particularly after additional security arrangements were introduced because of the President’s presence at the game.
One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Shuts down city blocks, makes everyone wait extra hours, and then sleeps during the game.”
Activist Amy Siskind penned: “OMG, after ALL THAT, Trump is sleeping at the Knicks game!”
Before the game, the Knicks had advised supporters to get to Madison Square Garden ‘at least two hours before tip off’ because of the heightened security checks.
The team also said a strict ‘no bags policy’ would be enforced, along with “TSA-style screening procedures”.
The security warning followed Trump’s remarks about fans discussing the steep cost of attending the matchup.
“It’s sort of semi-free to watch it on television. That’s the way life goes… If the team wasn’t a big success, tickets would go very easily… but that’s the way life is,” he told reporters after it was announced tickets were over $8000.
This is not the first time Trump has faced claims that he appeared to fall asleep, after he was previously dubbed the ‘commander in sleep’ when he seemed to doze during a cabinet meeting last December.