On Tuesday, Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to attend an NBA Finals game when he appeared at Game 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden as owner James Dolan’s guest. Unfortunately, though, the reception was not warm. The crowd at MSG booed him heavily when Trump’s face appeared on the Jumbotron. This has prompted Joe Rogan to offer the President some unvarnished advice about attending sporting events in the future.

“People were so upset that Trump was going to go to the NBA because if he’s there and then they have all these crazy security protocols, it makes the traffic even worse,” Rogan said on his podcast with Joey Diaz. “He should stick to the UFC. They are gonna boo him everywhere else.

“I heard some people cheered. I heard it was like cheers and boos. But the problem is, if there are cheers and any boos, it’s like 50/50, don’t go to that spot. Go to UFC.”

Here, Rogan emphasized Donald Trump’s strict security arrangements that reportedly drew the ire of the crowd at MSG. Firstly, the arena ramped up its security that forced the fans to arrive at MSG almost two hours before the game was set to begin to undergo safety screening. Secondly, Trump’s appearance caused massive traffic closures and a strict security lockdown around the arena and partly blocked off all vehicle and general pedestrian traffic from West 30th Street to West 35th Street, between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue. If this wasn’t enough, the highly popular outdoor fan watch party right outside the Garden had to be canceled as well. This left the crowd fuming.

Not only the fans, but Trump’s political opposition, the Democrats, also criticized his visit to the NBA finals. Even renowned ESPN host and a diehard Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith echoed similar sentiments during a recent show. He stated that Donald Trump’s appearance definitely affected the show, and even blamed him for the Knicks’ Game 3 loss.

Amid the ongoing backlash, it’s worth noting that Trump also received a similar reception, including boos, at a Washington Commanders NFL game late last year. Yet, his historical association with the NBA does make the recent criticism more surprising.

During the 1990s, he was a regular courtside presence and featured frequently on arena Jumbotrons. He was present during a 1994 NBA Finals game between the Knicks and the Houston Rockets, but that’s not all. He was also present at the 2003 NBA Draft when LeBron James went first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Regardless, the incident prompted Joe Rogan to draw a comparison between the very different receptions the President of the United States receives at recent UFC events compared to other sporting events.

Joe Rogan states Donald Trump “never got booed” in the UFC   

For years, Donald Trump has been one of Dana White’s special guests at marquee UFC events. The contrast with his UFC appearances, according to Rogan, could not be more stark. The 58-year-old podcaster and commentator revealed that he has never witnessed Trump getting booed at a UFC event, further reinforcing his stance that Donald Trump should stick to UFC shows.

“People say he got booed at the UFC,” Rogan added in the same podcast. “I have seen him at the UFC six times or something like that, I don’t know how many times, never got booed. He has never gotten booed. They f—-ing cheer. The people that say they are booing him, you’re distorting reality. It’s not true. 

“They cheer him. He walks in there like an American bad a– to a song, especially if Kid Rock was with him and Dana White behind him, and sometimes Tucker Carlson was there, back when they were close. It was like the conservative Avengers.” 

Going by Rogan’s words, it seemed he described Donald Trump’s grand entry at UFC 327 with Dana White, where he entered the Kaseya Center Arena alongside White with Kid Rock’s song ‘American Bad A–’ playing in the background. Well, that entrance definitely got a positive reaction from the crowd and UFC fighters, who showered him with cheers.

UFC fans could very well like Donald Trump because they agree with his administration’s policies. However, the fact that the 79-year-old helped the UFC during its struggling days has also strengthened that connection. With that in mind, it’s natural to believe that the President of the United States would get cheered whenever he sets foot inside a UFC event.