Times Donald Trump Was Ruthlessly Booed Attending Sporting Events

In the past, being the President of the United States — even an unpopular president — often earned you a certain level of respect and deference due to the nature and importance of the job itself. However, for Donald Trump, this hasn't always proven to be the case. It seems that nearly every time the divisive reality TV star-turned-politician steps foot out in public, he's met with a flurry of booing and jeers that must really chip away at his already fragile ego.

Trump certainly isn't the only member of his administration to get a less-than-warm welcome in public. Just look at how JD Vance got mercilessly booed when he and his wife, Usha Vance, stepped out for a performance at the Kennedy Center back in March 2025. Or when Vance was mocked when he and his family went to Disneyland. Or how Vance is booed and mocked basically everywhere he goes. But for Trump, the heckling and taunting seems to cut deeper.

It's hard to imagine the booing will let up anytime soon, either, especially after Trump's bizarre claim in November 2025 that the United States doesn't have enough people with "talent" to fill vacant jobs. The claim was so insulting that even Fox News host Laura Ingraham seemed to take offense. Trump also hasn't won many fans with his demolition of the East Wing of the White House to build an opulent ballroom, after lying about how the construction would impact the historic structure. So while more loud scorn is undoubtedly in his future, let's take a look at the times Trump was already on the receiving end of some ruthless booing at big-time sporting events.

As the Detroit Lions took on the Washington Commanders on November 9, 2025, Donald Trump watched the game from a special suite at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. Trump's appearance at the game was significant, as he was the first sitting president to appear at a regular season NFL game in nearly five decades. However, his unique appearance was also overshadowed by a torrential downpour of boos, insults, and rude hand gestures directed at him every time he appeared on the screens in the stadium.

It's unclear if the wave of disdain permanently soured Trump's feelings toward the game and its fans. ESPN reported earlier in the month that Trump had said he wanted the Commander's new D.C. stadium to be named in his honor (because of course he did), although he may have changed his mind after getting booed quite so hard. At one point during the game, while Trump was addressing the crowd, he was apparently drowned out by the flood of vocal disdain.

According to body language expert Traci Brown, who spoke with The Huffington Post, Trump was aware of the jeering and had some big feelings about it. "Trump shows contempt as evidenced by the crooked mouth he shows," Brown said, adding that she interprets his expressions to mean that Trump "thinks that their 'boos' are beneath consideration, deserving of scorn."

When Donald Trump decided to attend the U.S. Open men's tennis final in September 2025, he wound up making things much harder for many fans who were left standing outside New York City's Arthur Ashe stadium in limbo. Due to enhanced security protocols, the game was repeatedly delayed, and the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner began more than 45 minutes later than scheduled, while a slew of people were still struggling to get to their seats. These headaches didn't win Trump any fans, and things only got worse when he was shown on the stadium's big screens. Trump's appearance was met with a cacophony of boos (and admittedly some mixed-in cheering) from the audience, even as he saluted during the national anthem.

Trump draws some boos, and a few claps, when shown saluting during the anthem. (No one else was saluting the anthem).

Stadium still half empty due to long security lines.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/jzJiDMPFYb

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 7, 2025

Apparently, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) had prepared for this seemingly inevitable outcome and made sure to try and tiptoe around the awkwardness to protect Trump's delicate ego. The USTA ordered the outlets broadcasting the hotly anticipated match to play down any jeering or protestations from the crowd. An email from the organization (via Bounces) instructed outlets "to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President's attendance in any capacity." However, that didn't stop videos of the awkward moments from surfacing online.

If there's one thing Donald Trump truly excels at, it's making any situation all about him. The president's self-aggrandizing and attention-seeking reached an all-time high at the FIFA Club World Cup in July 2025, when Chelsea Football Club bested Paris Saint-Germain Football Club 3-0 in the heated match. However, Trump wasn't content with sharing the spotlight, and football fans at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey let him know exactly how they felt.

When Trump was shown on the big screens during the national anthem, the sold-out crowd let out a flurry of boos and hisses, and that negativity only intensified after the game. Trump came out, alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, to present the trophy, and the loud taunting got even worse. Then, things got simply baffling when Trump decided to crash Chelsea's celebration.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino trying to get Trump to leave the stage as Chelsea were lifting their Club World Cup trophy.

Such an embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/GfaYpLyKhE

— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) July 14, 2025

Trump stood around with the winning team, as if to give himself a chance to pretend that the cheers they were getting from the crowd were actually for him. Even as he was not-so-subtly pushed to the back of the victorious team, he tried to maintain his place in the center of the stage, which left some members of Chelsea utterly confused. Standout star Cole Palmer told reporters that Trump's awkward grandstanding was baffling and unexpected. "I knew he was going to be there, but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand where we lifted the trophy," Palmer said (via The Atlantic).

Getting booed at public events isn't something that just started happening during Donald Trump's second term in office. He was a deeply divisive political figure during his first time playing president, and many critics were just as loud and mocking then as they are today — perhaps even more so. This was evident in October 2019, when Trump headed out to Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. to watch the Washington Nationals take on the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the World Series.

Trump's appearance at the big game came amid a slew of political controversy and upheaval, and it was only two months before Trump was impeached for the first time (and he later became the only president ever to get impeached twice). During the third inning of the game, the stadium held a salute to service members and veterans in attendance, which was met with cheers and applause. That was until Trump was shown on the big screens, waving to the crowd.

His appearance elicited a notable shift in tone from celebratory clapping to jeering and mockery. Many in attendance even started a chanting "Lock him up," which was a particularly biting twist on Trump's own catchphrase "Lock her up," which he weaponized against Hilary Clinton time and again during his 2016 presidential campaign. It would be more than four years until Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts in a hush money trial in May 2024 – although even that didn't lead to him getting locked up as those baseball fans were so loudly rooting for.