President Donald Trump strolled into the men’s U.S. Open final expecting applause and instead got served with boos, jeers, and maybe one pity clap—the kind of reaction usually reserved for a line judge blowing a call.
It was his first visit to the tournament since 2015, yet another taxpayer-funded detour for a president more interested in stadium optics than unemployment numbers—or, you know, actually running the country for once.
And lately, y’all, the president has been treating America’s sports calendar like his personal bucket list: the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, NCAA wrestling, UFC fights, the FIFA World Cup, and now the U.S. Open. If there’s a crowd and a camera, Trump’s there—governing optional.
Trump’s ill-fated cameo in his birth borough of Queens came courtesy of Rolex, the Swiss luxury watchmaker sponsoring the Jannik Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz final. His posse included Pam Bondi, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, granddaughter Arabella, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt—ready for courtside optics that, once again, didn’t go their way.
You can view a clip from Yahoo Sports here:
@yahoosports US Open crowd reacts to seeing President Donald Trump on the jumbotron
And just like that, the second his face hit the big screen, the boos were louder than a Carrie Bradshaw voiceover.
Networks were reportedly even instructed to cut away when the crowd reacted, but fans and independent journalists filled their feeds with clips of the jeers.
According to The Athletic, the U.S. Tennis Association even begged broadcasters to sanitize the moment, asking them to “refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity.”
Lisa Cradit, the USTA’s communications head, confirmed the request in an email to USA TODAY:
“We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions.”
Of course, the White House denied that such a request was made.
But no amount of luxury branding or broadcast scrubbing could mute the sound of thousands booing him like he’d double-faulted democracy. Looming on the Jumbotron during the anthem, Trump still leaned into the kind of authoritarian imagery his White House confuses for gravitas but lands closer to a future Saturday Night Live parody.
Cue Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s ever-loyal “Olivia Nope,” who tried to spin the boos away with a puff post on X:
“The People’s President and the coolest boss ever. Signing hats for fans at the #USOpen.”
Don’t worry, Kerry Washington—your role is safe.
Leavitt’s awkward video showed Trump signing hats and tossing them into the crowd like a county-fair Elvis. Photos revealed fans approaching security guards to ask for signatures, and Trump obliged for a few minutes. But hat-signing didn’t drown out a stadium of boos, especially when cameras caught him sulking as Alcaraz celebrated his victory.
You can watch the press secretary's post below:
On court, Alcaraz beat Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, adding another Grand Slam to his growing résumé. The 22-year-old now has six majors, with only the Australian Open missing from his collection of trophies. But the viral moment wasn’t Alcaraz’s forehand—it was Trump refusing to clap while everyone else applauded.
Spotting the presidential pout, X user @youvegotajmail posted:
The clip garnered over 2 million views in just a few hours.
While Musician Bill Madden added his own viral dunk:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the reception the most hated man in the world, Donald Trump, received on Sunday at the U.S. Open men’s final.”
Meanwhile, spectators waiting outside Arthur Ashe Stadium were not amused. Many attendees missed parts of the match due to the increased security measures caused by the president’s field trip. The Secret Service later admitted that “enhanced protections” for the president “may have contributed to delays for attendees.”
So, for fans eager to see Sinner and Alcaraz, Trump’s cameo was less a patriotic duty and more a presidential traffic jam.
The internet quickly volleyed back, torching the Press Secretary’s attempt at damage control:
Meanwhile, Americans are counting pennies in the checkout line while the president hears boos from luxury boxes. Grocery bills are up nearly 23 percent over the past five years, with the average household now spending about $235 a week—more than $900 a month—on food.
Economists warn that Trump’s new tariffs could make things worse, tacking on as much as $4,900 more annually to the average family’s budget. Wages aren’t keeping up, and the August jobs report showed just 22,000 new positions, with June plunging into the red at a minus 13,000—the first net job loss since 2020.
So while grocery lines stretch and wallets shrink, Trump’s priorities remain courtside—sulking like a spoilsport and pretending distraction counts as governance. What the president has yet to realize is that serving spin won’t cover the mess he’s putting the American people in.
@thepassingtramp/X
@BryceWayne10s/X
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