Donald Trump was booed and cheered at the US Open during the national anthem before Sunday’s men’s final. When stadium monitors showed him saluting as a member of West Point performed the Star-Spangled Banner, a burst of cheers sprang up and was quickly drowned out by boos. After the first changeover, he reappeared on the big screen and stayed up there for a while – causing fans to boo even longer until the camera cut away.
Trump’s return to the US Open marked his first time at the tournament since 2015, when he was booed after leaving a match between Serena and Venus Williams. Invited to this year’s tournament by Rolex, he sat in a suite next to the winner’s trophy among a welter of cabinet and family members. He arrived more than an hour before the scheduled start of the match and raised a triumphant fist for the cameras.
Meanwhile, thousands of fans were left trickling into the match because of the heightened security around the president’s visit. The stadium was not yet at its expected capacity 45 minutes into the match, at which point Carlos Alcaraz already had a 6-2 lead over Jannik Sinner.
Trump’s return to the Open is somewhat of a homecoming. He was once a fixture at the tournament, styling himself as a celebrity to dwarf all others from New York or Hollywood. During that time, he was often shown on the big screen and booed.
But after he kicked off his 2015 presidential campaign with a fiery announcement speech hitting out at immigrants and foreign allies, the prevailing attitude toward Trump in New York shifted negatively.
The reception Trump received from the crowd on Sunday was in marked contrast to the enthusiasm that went up for the match’s other prominent attendees. During a changeover in the second set, the camera cut to Bruce Springsteen, who has been the target of a fusillade of Trump criticism. The crowd cheered deliriously.
The US Tennis Association, which organizes the US Open, had emailed broadcasters requesting reactions to Trump not be shown. Despite that, Trump’s appearance during the anthem was briefly shown on ESPN in the US.
