Earlier this weekend, there was a shocking report that the organizers of the U.S. Open had asked media networks to censor any crowd reactions when President Donald Trump made an appearance Sunday at the tennis tournament’s men’s final.
On Sunday, Trump made his appearance, and a video taken inside Arthur Ashe Stadium showed the president met with a mixture of boos and cheers. The most striking thing about the footage, though, is that the stadium was mostly empty when Trump arrived.
US Open crowd reacts to Donald Trump arrival pic.twitter.com/KFSnTr425A
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) September 7, 2025
Per CNN, at the time of the arrival, “The crowd is still sparse at this point, and there were definitely some cheers, but the overwhelming response to his fist pumps to the crowd were jeers.”
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The report also stated that “Enhanced security measures for the president’s arrival have resulted in delays in fans entering the stadium, and the match’s start has been pushed back 30 minutes.”
It was Trump’s first appearance at the U.S. Open, which is hosted in his native borough of Queens, since 2015, the summer of his first campaign for president. As a candidate and as president, Trump has attended sporting events frequently, from UFC fights to baseball games, usually but not always to cheers. This year, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, and has announced plans to host an MMA cage fight at the White House next summer.
There were many posts showing how large the crowd was outside the venue, including by tennis legend Martina Navratilova:
This is the outside right now pic.twitter.com/uKMBWpULAx
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) September 7, 2025
Journalist Ben Smith also reported from the tournament, and the slow progress of letting crowds in.
Some pretty annoyed US Open fans waiting in very long security lines outside Ashe pic.twitter.com/DCrrJ299xI
— Ben Smith (@semaforben) September 7, 2025
From my Ashe correspondent: “He came out of holding room to look at court. Was booed. He went back inside, out of view. Stadium mostly empty because security queues so long.”
— Ben Smith (@semaforben) September 7, 2025
The lines are insane. The stadium is still empty.
No way the Alcaraz-Sinner U.S. Open final begins even at 2:30. https://t.co/6dZ8umg96M
— Court Theory 🎾 (@Court_Theory) September 7, 2025
The booing of Trump at the U.S. Open will be louder than ever today as a result of the WH attempted extortion of ABC/ ESPN to not broadcast it. The booing of Trump will also will be recorded on thousands of spectator cell phones and posted all over social media afterwards.
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) September 7, 2025
Photo courtesy of the an X screenshot.
