Trump's Controversial Visit to the US Open Met with Boos and Delays

President Donald Trump attended the US Open on Sunday, but his visit was met with boos from the crowd at the men's final. The match was delayed due to the extra security associated with his visit.Trump briefly emerged from his suite about 45 minutes before the match started and heard a mix of boos and cheers. He appeared again to more boos before the National Anthem, standing in salute and offering a smirk that briefly made the boos louder.When the anthem was over, Trump pointed to a small group of supporters seated nearby, then sat on the suite's balcony to watch the match intently. He mostly didn't applaud, even following major points that energized the rest of the crowd.Trump was shown on the big screen again after the first set ended, and elicited louder boos. He raised his left fist in salute as the noise continued.Organizers delayed the start of the match half an hour to give people more time to pass through Secret Service screening checkpoints reminiscent of security at airports. Thousands of increasingly frustrated fans remained in line outside waiting to get inside well past the start of play.The Secret Service said that protecting Trump "required a comprehensive effort" and noting that it "may have contributed to delays for attendees." In a statement, they sincerely thanked every fan for their patience and understanding.Trump attended the final as a guest of Rolex, despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker's home country. The US Tennis Association also tried to limit negative reaction to Trump's attendance being shown on ABC's national telecast, saying in a statement before play began: "We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions."The reactions to Trump didn't ultimately constitute major disruptions.Trump was excited enough about his trip to tell reporters on Air Force One during the flight to New York when the plane flew over Ashe stadium. He was once a US Open mainstay, but hadn't attended since he was booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.Trump accepted Rolex's invitation despite his administration imposing a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products. That's more than 2 1/2 times higher than levies on European Union goods exported to the US and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the US.Among those attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff. Trump spent various portions of the match engaged in conversation with many of those around him.A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a US Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn't be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats. "I was careful not to get the red one," she said.Trump spent various portions of the match engaged in conversation with many of those around him.Among those attending were celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year's election. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen and Shonda Rhimes. In pre-match interviews shown on large stadium screens with the likes of Martha Stewart and Jon Hamm, the questions asked stuck to tennis and pop culture — not Trump and politics.Trump was once a US Open mainstay, but hadn't attended since he was booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign. The Trump Organization once controlled its own US Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium's television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump's first term.The family business is now being run by Trump's sons with their father back in the White House.Trump was born in Queens, home of the US Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in his company's suite's balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena's video screens.