When President Donald Trump shows up to watch a game, smart money might be on the away team.
Recent patterns suggest home teams struggle when Trump is in attendance. The New York Knicks, who had won their previous two games against the San Antonio Spurs in the finals, fell 115-111 on Monday night with Trump watching from a luxury box at Madison Square Garden. The president, a long-time supporter of New York’s NBA franchise, may have brought similar misfortune to MLB’s Washington Nationals during his previous presidency, when they dropped Game 5 of the World Series 7-1 to the Houston Astros.
Last November, Trump witnessed the NFL’s Washington Commanders get crushed 44-22 by the Detroit Lions at home. He also attended the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last fall, where Europe defeated the U.S. golf team.
The pattern creates an ironic situation for a president who obsesses over winning and competitive sports.
Trump regularly references his electoral successes, including falsely claiming victory over Joe Biden in 2020, and highlights his track record of backing successful Republican primary contenders. His sports enthusiasm sometimes takes him into unfriendly venues, like heavily Democratic Manhattan, where crowds booed loudly before Monday’s game began.
However, Trump’s presence doesn’t always doom the home squad.
The New York Yankees defeated the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 last September with the president attending to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Trump also watched Navy defeat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, though the Midshipmen were technically hosting despite playing away from their Annapolis, Maryland home venue.
Trump has attended numerous sporting events where home field advantage doesn’t apply.
This includes his appearances at the U.S. Open in September, the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans where the Philadelphia Eagles topped the Kansas City Chiefs, and that year’s Daytona 500. He also attended the 2024 NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The home team factor won’t matter Sunday when the White House’s South Lawn hosts a UFC event celebrating Trump’s 80th birthday.
White House officials didn’t respond to Monday inquiries about Trump potentially bringing bad fortune to home teams at sporting events.
If this trend continues, it could spell trouble for the U.S. national soccer team in the World Cup beginning Thursday. The Americans have never reached the tournament’s final in its current format, and they’ll face the added challenge of Trump playing a major role in organizing the competition. He has promised to attend the championship match and present the trophy to the winners.
Some Knicks supporters are blaming the president for Monday’s Game 3 loss, despite their team maintaining the series lead. Game 4 takes place Wednesday in New York, but Trump isn’t planning to attend.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender and frequent Trump critic, jokingly embraced the jinx narrative by resharing a previous White House social media post that declared “Call it the Trump effect” alongside discussion of the Knicks’ defeat.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who has been mentioned as a possible future presidential candidate, predicted before Game 3 that Trump would be responsible if the Knicks lost. Following the game, he stated, “What I feared would happen ended up happening.”
“The president disrupted our mojo,” Smith, a devoted Knicks supporter, explained. “The man messed things up.”
When asked about Smith potentially holding him responsible for the Knicks’ loss, Trump criticized the analyst’s political ambitions and questioned his mental capacity.
“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters while boarding Air Force One for his return flight to Washington early Tuesday.
“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that,” he continued. “I don’t think he does, actually.”
Prior to his political career, Trump, who grew up in Queens, regularly attended Knicks games and often sat in courtside seats. His Monday return to the Garden generated sustained booing when his image appeared on the arena’s big screen during the national anthem, even before the team’s loss.
Trump has faced hostile crowd reactions repeatedly, though this stems more from his political positions than any perceived role in cursing home teams. He was booed at the Nationals’ World Series game, during the Commanders contest, and at the U.S. Open. While some events bring cheers and reactions can be mixed, Trump tends to characterize crowd responses more favorably than they actually were.
Following the Knicks game, Trump claimed the boos were “I think, mostly cheers.” The White House attempted to frame the appearance as a political victory, sharing a photo of Trump at the game with the text “King of New York.”
New York’s Daily News tabloid offered a contrasting perspective, publishing a cartoon showing an oversized Trump in a No. 38 Knicks uniform with a speech bubble reading “approval rating.”
