Trump Attends NBA Finals as Knicks Return to Madison Square Garden

Article excerpt

Monday in New York was already charged before the opening tip. Game 3 of the NBA Finals brought the Knicks home to Madison Square Garden for the first time in this series, and the crowd inside included Donald Trump and activist Mahmood Mamdani, a collision of basketball, politics, and celebrity that only New York can produce with a straight face. The Knicks' run to the Finals is itself a significant moment for a franchise whose fans have endured decades of heartbreak and near-misses, and the return to MSG for a home game raises the stakes considerably. Meanwhile, Trump also marked a separate milestone in Washington, announcing the completion of a renovation to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which he described in his characteristic register as filled with 'CLEAN, BEAUTIFUL WATER.' The reflecting pool is one of the most visited landmarks on the National Mall, framing the view from the Lincoln Memorial steps toward the Washington Monument. The two moments, one civic and one sporting, captured something of how the former and current president has woven himself into the texture of American public life, showing up at both a restoration ribbon-cutting and a playoff basketball game on the same day.