President Donald Trump attended a New York Yankees game on Thursday night and saluted the national anthem at Yankee Stadium on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, receiving a largely positive response from fans amid some moderate boos.
Trump arrived in New York shortly after 6 p.m. ET and was seated in a suite on the third-base side less than an hour later. Fans at the game broke into loud "USA" chants both before and after the anthem, and a faint expletive chant directed at President Joe Biden was heard but quickly drowned out by the crowd.
The president had visited the Pentagon earlier in the day for a Sept. 11 commemorative ceremony and was later in a suite with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine. Before the game, Trump spent time in the Yankees' home clubhouse, where he shook hands with players and had extended conversations with outfielder Aaron Judge and shortstop Anthony Volpe.
In his first at-bat after meeting Trump, Judge hit a solo home run, a drive measured at 110 mph off the bat. Team and stadium officials had urged fans to use public transportation and arrive early; gates were opened three hours before the game rather than the usual 90 minutes.
The appearance marked the first time Trump had attended a Major League Baseball game since the 2021 World Series, and his first visit to a Yankees game since he last attended an MLB contest as president during the 2019 World Series. The crowd reaction at Thursday’s game was described as mostly positive toward Trump, with intermittent moderate boos.
The visit drew attention as part of broader 9/11 remembrance activities across the region. Trump’s presence at a high-profile public event on the anniversary followed his earlier participation in official commemorations at the Pentagon, where dignitaries and veterans gathered to mark the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001.
Security and logistical measures at Yankee Stadium reflected the day’s significance. The team and stadium staff advised early arrival and public transit use to accommodate both the expected crowd and the heightened attention surrounding the president’s attendance.
Trump’s outing to the ballpark came as he continues to remain a central figure in national politics. The appearance at a major sporting event on a significant national anniversary underscored the intersection of public commemoration and political visibility. Team officials and stadium staff did not immediately provide additional comment on the president’s visit beyond confirming he met with players and sat with ownership and team leadership.
The Yankees hosted the Detroit Tigers in the game, which proceeded without reported incident beyond the mixed fan responses to the presidential visit. Media coverage of the appearance noted the contrast between tributes to the Sept. 11 victims earlier in the day and the political overtones that often accompany appearances by a sitting or former president at public sporting events.