Jimmy Fallon Reveals Trump’s Tiny Silver Lining After Knicks Game Disaster
The late-night host found the one group of people who still approve of the president.
Donald Trump’s appearance at the NBA Finals was nothing short of disastrous, but Jimmy Fallon thinks there could be a silver lining for the president.
The late-night host has been roasting Trump ever since he attended the Knicks game on Monday in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Fallon first mocked Trump for inadvertently dozing off during the game. And on Tuesday night, the Tonight Show anchor decided to conjure a silver lining in an otherwise ill-fated incident.
“Last night, President Trump slept at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. And the Knicks fans are blaming him for the team’s loss,” began Fallon.
“On the bright side for Trump, his approval rating in San Antonio is now 100 percent, so it worked out for him there,” he quipped.
Trump prior to a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks in Game Three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
Al Bello/Getty Images
After winning 13 consecutive games, the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a nail-biting game.
Trump was the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game, according to the BBC. The 79-year-old president was incessantly booed by the crowd and has been blamed in the aftermath for the Knicks’ loss.
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“Trump doesn’t want to be blamed,” explained Fallon. “So today, he called the NBA and demanded they ‘find’ five more points for the Knicks.”
Game three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
Vincent Carchietta/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The late-night host continued to mock the president for his behavior at the event, saying, “During the national anthem, they showed Trump on the Jumbotron and the crowd loudly booed. Trump’s staff was like, ‘They’re not booing. They’re just saying, we love your reflecting poooooool.’”
Trump and his administration have attempted to deny the crowd’s jeers and defend the president’s nap, which was caught on camera. Speaking to reporters after the game, Trump insisted he received a warm welcome from the crowd at Madison Square Garden and said the noise was simply from “enthusiastic” fans.
Meanwhile, the White House-associated X account @RapidResponse47 responded to a Reuters image of the president sleeping in the stadium, writing, “He was blinking, you absolute moron.”
Trump appeared to doze off next to Knicks owner James Dolan at Monday's NBA playoff game in New York.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
The president, who turns 80 on Sunday, gave a rambling excuse as to why he didn’t make it to the subsequent NBA games, suggesting there are more important things to do. Trump will be celebrating his birthday with a UFC fight set to take place on the White House lawn.
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