The curse of Trump watching sports in person: the home team seems to always lose

If President Donald Trump is coming to the game, bet on the visiting team. You’ll usually be in the money — at least if recent history holds. The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, lost at home 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple’s NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden. He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB’s Washington Nationals during his first term, when the home team lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Houston Astros 7-1. In November, the president was on hand when the NFL’s Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was front and center at Bethpage Black when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall’s Ryder Cup. It’s a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially obsessed with winning. Trump frequently mentions his own election victories, even boasting of a 2020 win over Joe Biden that never happened, and touts his record of endorsing winning Republican primary candidates. His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his very presence led to sustained booing before Game 3’s tipoff. The White House called the suggestion that Trump’s attendance might not bode well for home teams “foolish” and called him “the people’s president.” “President Trump is the greatest champion for sports of any president in American history, and he loves them,” spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement. To be fair, Trump’s attendance doesn’t guarantee the home team will lose. Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as the president marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team — though Navy wasn’t playin