Between policy announcements, the US president found time to attend the last tennis Grand Slam of the season. The reaction of the audience? Mixed.
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Now, you may think about Donald Trump whatever you like, just like Americans: one half hates him, the other half adores him.
But you have to concede: Trump has guts. The last time he went to Flushing Meadows (in Queens, his birthplace) in 2015 to see the US Open he was brutally booed upon arriving at the VIP entrance at Arthur Ashe Stadium and booed again when he was shown on the big screen.
At the time, Trump was a New York celebrity who had just announced a run for the presidency.
That booing must have left its mark. Trump avoided the US Open for the next ten years.
Until Sunday’s men’s final when he showed up as president of the United States.
And there it was again, the crowd’s roar. The organizers seemed to have had a hunch about what was coming and had “advised” TV camera operators not to show any “reactions in response to the Presidents’ attendance”.
Now, you talk to Americans about his stadium appearance on the day after, and people tell you what they heard: one half says he was booed mercilessly, the other half says he was joyfully cheered.
The Boss and the President on court
And this did not depend on where you were seated. Speaking of which…
Trump’s visit to the last Grand Slam of the season caused massive disruptions and long wait lines due to enhanced security by the Secret Service.
Despite the delayed start of the match, many spectators couldn’t reach their seats on time. When Carlos Alcaraz finished the first set with a 6-2 win, many fans could still be seen streaming into the stadium.
Even A-list celebrities including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas and Ben Stiller were spotted waiting in line like everybody else.
Bruce Springsteen was probably surprised to find the man he recently denounced as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” while he was on tour in Europe seated just a few feet away.
In response, Trump had threatened to block his re-entry into the US and called for an investigation into Springsteen and other musicians who supported Kamala Harris. (Trump didn’t follow through on either threat…)
By the way, what’s the difference between Trump and Springsteen? Springsteen had to pay for his ticket, while Trump was invited to the final by Rolex, the luxury watchmaker from Switzerland, a country whose products he just slapped a whopping 39% tariff on.
Maybe Rolex watches will soon get tariff-exempted…
Trump’s mind wasn’t entirely focused on tennis on Sunday. Ahead of the match he posted social media pieces about windmills and the war in the Middle East and told reporters at the White House he was not threatening Chicago when he said he would use the military to “clean up the city”.
When the match was over, Trump didn't present the trophies to the players as he had when Chelsea won the Club World Cup in New Jersey in June.
But Alcaraz said that Trump’s attendance at the US Open final was “good for tennis”.
During his presidency, Trump has been a prominent presence elsewhere in the world of sports. He famously attended the Super Bowl, a UFC fight and a Nascar race.
For Trump, that is one (non-verbal) way of communicating with the public.
Do Americans like it? If you asked them, one half would probably say they hate it, whereas the other half… you get the idea.