Trump Gets Mercilessly Booed at NBA Finals

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Trump Gets Mercilessly Booed at NBA Finals

Host: Tim Miller (The Bulwark)
Date: June 9, 2026

Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes focuses on a striking cultural and political moment during Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden: former President Donald Trump was heavily booed by the assembled crowd when shown on the jumbotron. Host Tim Miller gives listeners his signature, sharp-witted commentary on why the moment matters, how the right-wing media attempted to reframe it, and what the intense reaction among fans in and outside MSG signals about the current political climate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Trump Booing Incident at Madison Square Garden

• [01:02] Tim Miller takes listeners to halftime at Game 3, highlighting the public's reaction to Trump:
  • Trump arrived with a grand motorcade, delaying Knicks fans, in an attempt “to borrow some of the Knicks juju, some of their riz.”
  • When shown on the jumbotron, Trump received “merciless” boos — louder than any previous boos at the venue, including those directed at rival NBA players.
  • Miller’s colorful metaphor: “Carl Anthony Towns is king and President Trump is an annoyance and a little gnat. Maybe a little cat toy the cat can play with.”
• Memorable quote:

  "I'm a man who likes simple pleasures. Okay? You know, lollipops in my mouth and Donald Trump getting booed." — Tim Miller [01:40]

2. MAGA Reaction and Media Spin

• [03:00] Miller observes the right’s reflex to minimize or reframe the negative reaction:
  • Right-wing media, particularly Fox News, tried to only air crowd shots during “USA” chants to make it seem like Trump was being greeted patriotically instead of booed.
  • Online, pro-Trump accounts circulated clips misrepresenting halftime cheers for the show as cheers for Trump.
  • Miller skewers prominent right-wing commentator Rich Lowry (National Review) for framing Trump as a “middle finger” to America, noting ironically, “Trump’s digits are so small. It’s kind of like the tiniest middle finger to the country.”
• Memorable quote:

  “The MAGA people... have this hole inside of them that they need to be validated. It’s not enough that he wins the presidency. He must be praised and adored.” — Tim Miller [03:50]

• Miller contrasts this need for adoration with the sports world’s embrace of the “heel” or villain role, suggesting MAGA supporters could just own the boos.

3. The Scene Outside Madison Square Garden

• [07:01] Security concerns around Trump’s presence led to the cancellation of usual block parties right outside the stadium. Instead, fans watched the game at alternative venues like Bryant Park.
  • Miller notes it was the expensive-ticket holders inside who booed Trump, and those outside were even more vocal in their rejection.
  • Describes typical NYC fans: “regular New Yorkers. Knicks fans... excited about the game, pumped to be out there with their fellow New Yorkers.”
  • The Bryant Park crowd sang the national anthem and then “booed Trump with great gusto.”
• Memorable quote:

  "That warms the soul, doesn’t it? That is just an appealing scene." — Tim Miller [07:45] "They show Donald Trump on the screen, it's like, boo you. Boo. That's nice." — Tim Miller [08:01]

4. The "Trump Hex" on the Knicks

• [08:30] Touching on Knicks fans’ anxiety, Miller jokes about a potential “Trump hex” on the team’s luck but reassures listeners not even Trump can spoil the vibe.
  • At halftime, the Knicks are up seven, “Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns looking nice.”
  • Miller closes with a lighthearted request:

    “Should we play the boos one more time?... That is nice. If you also want to boo Donald Trump, subscribe to the feed.” [09:30]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “I’m a man who likes simple pleasures. Okay? You know, lollipops in my mouth and Donald Trump getting booed.” — Tim Miller [01:40]*
• "Trump’s digits are so small. It’s kind of like the tiniest middle finger to the country." — Tim Miller [03:23]*
• “The MAGA people... have this hole inside of them that they need to be validated. It’s not enough that he wins the presidency. He must be praised and adored.” — Tim Miller [03:50]*
• “That warms the soul, doesn’t it? That is just an appealing scene.” — Tim Miller [07:45]*
• “They show Donald Trump on the screen, it's like, boo you. Boo. That's nice.” — Tim Miller [08:01]*
• “Should we play the boos one more time?... That is nice. If you also want to boo Donald Trump, subscribe to the feed.” — Tim Miller [09:30]*

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• 01:02-05:41 — The booing at Madison Square Garden and right-wing coping/response
• 07:01-09:30 — Scenes from outside MSG, Bryant Park reactions, and the “Trump hex” joke
• Throughout — Tim’s irreverent, humorous style, and a running theme: cathartic pleasure in public accountability

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Tone & Style

Miller’s tone is informal, witty, and laden with pointed sarcasm. He mixes joy and relief at Trump's reception with playful jabs at both Trump and his defenders, creating a cathartic, community vibe among listeners likely to share his perspective.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

In this sharp, funny solo episode, Tim Miller celebrates a rare, shared civic pleasure: Donald Trump being loudly booed by New Yorkers, both rich and regular, during the NBA Finals. He breaks down attempts by right-wing media and pundits to spin the moment, laughs at their need for Trump to be adored, and paints an evocative picture of city life rallying around their team and against Trump’s presence. Ultimately, it’s a breezy and cathartic take on the overlap of sports, civic identity, and political spectacle—punctuated, naturally, by the sound of booing.

Transcript

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[Tim Miller]

Hey, everybody. Tim Miller from the Bulwark. It is halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the president got mercilessly booed in Madison Square Garden. Thank God, you know, thank God. We need this. If this clown is going to make people wait outside for hours so he can pretend to care about the game, drive through Manhattan in his motorcade, try to borrow some of the Knicks juju, some of their riz, try to get that rub off on himself. It's nice to see that it ain't gonna work, you know. In Madison Square Garden tonight, Carl Anthony Towns is king and president and President Trump is an annoyance and a little gnat. I don't know, maybe a little cat toy the cat can play with. Why don't we watch some of it, huh? Won't that be fun? Let's watch Donald Trump get booed together. You know, we have some we need. I'm a man who likes simple pleasures. Okay. You know, lollipops in my mouth and Donald Trump getting booed. Let's do it. Here he is. This is from inside the arena where you can really kind of get the scale of it. Let me know if you can tell at what point Donald Trump gets shown on the jumbotron during this video. Let's watch. Bo Bo. I like it. I like it. The Bronx cheer, if you will. Rachel Nichols, the NBA reporter, said it was the loudest booze she's heard in Madison Square Garden louder than for Trey Young. That's notable. The MAGA people. It's kind of funny. There's a lot of cope. There's a lot of cope happening on the right. I don't understand why, honestly. You know, the whole theory. This guy at the National Review is kind of a nebbish dweeb named Rich Lowry. He wrote an article about how Trump was a big middle finger to the country, and that was. That was an endorsement of him. That's what he wanted in the president, was a middle finger to the country. Kind of strange, but, you know, teach their own. I always thought one of the problems with that is Trump's digits are so small. It's kind of like the tiniest middle finger to the country. But anyhow, I don't understand why they don't just kind of embrace it. Well, they just embrace the heel turn. I mean, there's an element of this that sometimes you can appreciate. I. I'm an LSU Tigers fan. If you're into college football, Lane Kiffin is going to be a heel this year. I think everybody's going to embrace that. People are going to boo him. And, you know, sometimes you just lean into that. You know, WWE fans would know this, but for some reason, the MAGA people are so needy. You know, they have this hole inside of them that they need to be validated. It's not enough that he wins the presidency. He must be praised and adored. And so they create this fake world where people like him. And that's how Fox covered the billing. Let's give that a little look. On Fox there. They. They just played the USA part before the, the anthem started. You can see like the camera angle that we're showing there. It's kind of like a house camera of Trump, you know, going along with the USA can't chant. That's because he was not on the screen at. In the other video should go back to him is when they showed Trump on the screen when he got all the boos. So USA chant is appropriate. Everybody of all political stripes should like a good USA chant, but that's not what they were chanting for Trump. I saw an even funnier clip on Twitter, which I didn't share, but because it was from some MAGA chud, so who cares. But he, he posted this like it was a super cute. That was going on during halftime of the game where you had a voiceover of Mike Breen is the play I play guy talking about what had happened during the first half and he mentioned that Donald Trump was there. And in that video, there's cheering in the background. But that's because it's halftime and they're cheering for whatever the halftime show is. And the MAGA guy's like, look at them cheer for Donald Trump the second time he was on screen. See those mean libs that said that they didn't cheer for them? They were wrong.

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[Tim Miller]

They couldn't have a block party like they had been having, like right outside the stadium. I'd actually been to one of those where Madison Square Garden, like play on the Jumbotron Tron like on the outside of Madison Square Garden. So, like, you're literally right outside the stadium and you know there's dudes selling pierogies and there's the halal truck and, you know, there's dudes selling like Big Apple merch and people are hanging out. They had to cancel that this time because Trump was there. And so they had watch parties in a bunch of other places around the city, including one in Bryant Park. And the people go to those watch parties. They didn't have the scratch to get in and I thought it was interesting that Trump gets booed that mercilessly inside MSG by people that are either A, season ticket holders, legit fans, or B, the people that were ponying up 10 grand plus. And I was like, kind of wondering, I don't know, with all the douchey finance bros that had 10 grand to throw around, maybe Trump would get cheered in there. I don't know. What the hell do I know? So it's kind of funny he got even booed by the upper crust. But the reception among the people outside the stadium was even worse. Let's show the scene from Bryant Park. I say, can you see the D? Well, that warms the soul, doesn't it? That is just an appealing scene. What I like about that in particular was they were singing along to the anthem. You know, it's a patriotic bunch. That's what the MAGA people say. Well, they just. Those New York, Brooklyn, Occupy, Wall Street, Communists, Zoran, hate America, Islam, Sharia. No, no, they're just regular New Yorkers. Knicks fans, we're excited about game three. Excited about the game, pumped to be out there with their fellow New Yorkers. Beautiful night in the park, watching on the big screen, singing along to the anthem, loving their country. And they show Donald Trump on the screen, it's like, boo you. Boo. That's nice. All right, well, like I said, we're taking this at halftime. It didn't. Hasn't affected the Knicks so far. There's some concern that there's going to be a Trump hex on them among the Knicks fans. I hope not. You know, you can't, can't let fucking Donald Trump ruin anybody's moment. But we'll see what happens. The second half, Knicks are up seven at halftime. Jalen Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns looking nice. Could we. Should we play the booze one more time? Jared, let's do the booze one more time just for good measure. That is nice. If you also want to boo Donald Trump, subscribe to the feed. We appreciate you all. We'll be seeing you soon. So good, so good, so good.

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