The View’s Sunny Hostin is convinced Donald Trump could “jinx” the New York Knicks ahead of their first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.
Trump should stay away from MSG, Hostin argued during the show’s “Hot Topics” segment on Monday, as the hosts discussed Trump’s plans to attend the highly anticipated game. New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is also set to attend.
Hostin told her co-hosts that not only should Trump not risk bringing “bad juju” to the game, but his presence alone has already begun to disrupt other fans.
“If I scraped up $10,000 to buy tickets to the game, I don’t want two hours of a security line,” she argued. “You can’t bring your bag. You’ve got to take your shoes off like it’s TSA. I don’t think he should come.”
Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin also argued against Trump’s attending the game, for less superstitious reasons.
“If I were advising him, I would be like, do not go, because if they lose tonight, everybody is going to blame you,” Griffin said. Hostin replied, “It’s bad juju!”
Trump, 79, will attend Monday’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs after he was invited by Knicks owner James Dolan. Since his attendance was confirmed, fans have been instructed to arrive two hours before the game and adhere to a strict no-bag policy, according to a joint announcement by MSG and the Secret Service. The popular watch party outside the venue was also canceled for Trump’s visit, as the surrounding streets will be closed.
The Knicks fan account Knicks Memes slammed the news, writing in a post on X, “It doesn’t matter who you voted for. Banning the great vibes outside MSG before, during & after games, especially on a night the Knicks play their first NBA Finals Home Game in 27 years, objectively sucks.”
While logistics and the fear of a “jinx” are already rubbing fans the wrong way, Ana Navarro hit Trump elsewhere for his choice to attend the game, which will make him the first sitting president to do so.
“He didn’t have the time to go to Donald Trump Jr.‘s wedding because of Iran, but now that the strikes are raging again between Israel and Iran, he’s coming here for this game?” Navarro said on Monday.
And yet, fellow anti-Trump critic Whoopi Goldberg was adamant that, as a native New Yorker, the president had every “right” to attend, slamming the idea that Trump could be a bad luck charm for her hometown team.
“Trump’s not gonna jinx us?” Hostin asked in disbelief.
“There’s nothing either one of them can do to change what’s happening in the city for this team. They’re there. OK?” she argued. “I don’t think anything can jinx anything.”
The Knicks “are on a mission,” she continued. “They have been winning and doing everything, and you could be butt naked up in the box and ain’t nobody paying attention.”
What’s more, she added, “You earn the right as a Knicks fan” to enjoy the team’s big moment. “I don’t care who you are. I don’t have to like you; I don’t have to dig you. If I was as big as them, I’d still be going.”
