9 June—Reports about Donald Trump’s reception when his real-time image appeared on the jumbotron at the NBA tournament game at Madison Square Garden last night all mention the intensity of the booing: “thunderous booing,” “thunderously booed,” “booed loud and long” are common descriptions. Even faithfully Trumpian Fox News, reporting the “massive reaction,” admitted, “While there was some cheering as Trump saluted the crowd from his suite, the boos from those in attendance rang louder before the video panned back to NYPD officers holding flags on the court.”

The crowd’s shouts of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” as Avery Wilson absolutely mangled the national anthem (as, sad to say, is all too common these days) gave way to boos and probably raspberries as Trump’s glorious image in a Benny Hill-style military salute filled the giant screens. He followed up with the customary dictator’s fist salute.

After the game, of course, Trump relished the ear-splitting volume of the reception but put his typically and predictably self-serving narcissistic spin on it: “It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.” That’s been his reaction to negative reception at other sporting events, too, such as the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where his smirk only amplified the crowd’s jeers. Way to go, Donald, sound positive, act negative. And who cares anyway?

But in Trump’s defense (kind of), consider the people who reacted massively and negatively last night. Those presumably wealthy masochistic schmucks paid a minimum of close to $4,000—even after the last-minute 50-percent scalper reduction, mind you—for the lousiest so-called “nosebleed” seats in the house and went through all manner of security crap just to get in to the virtual fortress. So who can take them seriously?

What a bloody waste of money! But that can be said of sports and other entertainment tickets in general. And you can’t blame inflation . . .