Kimmel roasts – Jimmy Kimmel opened the June 9 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by going after President Donald Trump for what he described as a nap during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, as well as the security disruption and boos that followed Trump’s appearance on the arena Jumbo
Jimmy Kimmel didn’t ease into it.
On the June 9 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” he opened with a sharp takedown of President Donald Trump—mocking what he described as a night that “went about as badly as it could possibly go.”
Trump had attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on June 8, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game. Kimmel pointed to the visit’s heightened security. traffic disruptions. and footage that appeared to show the 79-year-old president nodding off in his luxury box.
“Donald Trump last night made history,” Kimmel told viewers. “He became the first sitting president to shut down a major United States city so he could take a nap in front of a sold-out crowd at the NBA Finals.”
Kimmel leaned into the nickname “Dozes Malone” for Trump during the monologue, tying it directly to the footage that appeared to show the president asleep in his suite during the game.
He said he’d seen it coming with the game’s timing. “Kimmel joked that the game’s 8:30 p.m. start time might be ‘pretty late for the president to be out.’” Then he added. “Many New York celebrities were in attendance tonight. including our president. who was too busy with the war to go to his son’s wedding but had no problem carving out time to swallow nachos at the Knicks game tonight. Kimmel said.”.
Kimmel also zeroed in on the disruption Trump’s attendance caused before tip-off. He said Trump was the first sitting president to “completely disrupt an NBA Finals game in person. ” and that the NBA canceled the watch party outside the Garden. Kimmel described the changes fans faced: he said people had to arrive two hours early to get through security. and that Trump didn’t even get courtside seating for safety reasons—adding that “They put him behind bulletproof glass.”.
From there, the monologue moved to the moment Trump appeared during the anthem.
Kimmel opened the segment with footage of anti-Trump protesters and fans waiting in long security lines outside Madison Square Garden. He referenced the security perimeter in midtown Manhattan—set by NYPD and Secret Service—and said it required fans to arrive at least two hours early for TSA-style screening. “This was a bad idea to start with. ” Kimmel said. “and went as badly as it could possibly go for Trump.”.
Then came the Jumbotron moment. Kimmel said chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” filled the arena as Broadway performer Avery Wilson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but that the cheers were followed by boos when Trump appeared on the screen giving a military salute.
“The question on everyone’s mind was, would the president get booed in the Garden? The team didn’t want this,” Kimmel said. “So they were smart. They tried something clever: They showed him on the Jumbotron during the national anthem when it’s frowned upon to boo. That strategy did not work at all.”
He then played footage of basketball fans booing Trump, including comments aimed at the contrast between what Trump was doing and what the crowd was communicating.
“He’s saluting for no reason. They’re booing,” Kimmel said. “See, in his brain, he’s on stage at a Springsteen concert and they think he’s Bruce. They’re saying ‘Bruce.’ It was a booze cruise inside the arena and all the way up to the watch party at Bryant Park.”
Kimmel also aired footage of boos from a crowd gathered at Bryant Park after the traditional watch party outside Madison Square Garden was canceled.
He tied the reaction to past sporting blowback, noting that Trump was previously booed at the 2025 Super Bowl and at an NFL game in November 2025.
“They say that was the loudest the president has been booed at a sporting event since Abe Lincoln flipped the coin at the Cotton Bowl,” Kimmel cracked.
As Kimmel framed it, the night didn’t just bring a rare presidential trip to an NBA Finals— it brought security disruptions, uneasy crowd moments, and boos that followed Trump from the Garden outward.
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