The New York Knicks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly three decades, and the city is buzzing.
President Donald Trump signaled this week that he will likely attend an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden, which would make him the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game (just as he became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl).
Now, an old post has resurfaced where Knicks wing Josh Hart bashed President Trump.
Josh Hart’s Anti-Donald Trump Tweet Resurfaces Ahead of NBA Finals
Hart probably didn’t think his political opinions from 2020 would resurface six years later when he was on basketball’s biggest stage. But as the Knicks advance to the NBA Finals after 27 years, his words are roaring back to life.
“YESSIR!!!! GET TRUMP’S DUMBA** OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!” the guard wrote on X in November 2020.
With news of POTUS planning to attend an NBA Finals game at MSG, the NBA world dug through X to find this blunt tweet written around that year’s presidential election.
The tweet drew little attention then, and even less in the years since… until this week. Within hours, this old tweet went viral, especially among the Knicks fandom, as an obvious punchline amid the ongoing narrative of Trump’s planned visit.
This isn’t the first time Hart called out Trump. In 2018, during his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, he labeled the president “childish” after Trump took a shot at LeBron James’ intelligence. Hart used the moment to spotlight James’ I Promise School in Akron rather than dwell on the insult. He joined a chorus of NBA figures, including Adam Silver and Jeanie Buss, rallying around the star.
On the court, Hart has been one of the steadier pieces in New York’s Finals run. His two-way contributions make him indispensable to the team. This postseason, he’s averaging 11.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.4 3s per game.
Trump Confirms James Dolan Invite As Knicks Await NBA Finals Opponent
During a White House Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the president confirmed that Knicks owner James Dolan has invited him to attend the NBA Finals.
“I think I’ll be going to one of the games,” Trump said. “I was invited by numerous people, and Jim. And I think I’ll be going.” He praised Dolan as a “great guy” and acknowledged that the franchise “have really suffered for years” before this season’s surge.
As it turns out, Trump almost made it to the Garden a round earlier. He had penciled in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, only for the Knicks to sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I was going to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly,” he said, referencing the four-game sweep of Cleveland. Following through on the Finals plan would make him the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.
New York is in the midst of an 11-game playoff winning streak. The Knicks’ opponent in the NBA Finals is still up in the air. The defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder hold a 3-2 edge over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.
The NBA Finals begin on June 3, and then will shift to MSG for Games 3 and 4 on June 8 and June 10, respectively.
