Is Mitchell Robinson a Republican? What Voter Registration Shows
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson's reaction to President Donald Trump attending the game went viral, sparking questions as to whether he voted for the president in the election.
Trump's involvement in sports has sparked controversy for years, with teams and players refusing to celebrate their wins at the White House. Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Monday night was no different, with fans complaining about the additional security measures implemented for the game, and people resurfacing a 2020 post on Twitter, now X, from Knicks star Josh Hart that celebrated Trump's election loss to former President Joe Biden.
Ahead of the game, a TikTok user named Eren posted a video implying that Robinson would play better with Trump in the audience. It showed a young Allen Iverson playing against Michael Jordan in the 1990s. Robinson commented on the video, "You ain't lying, brother."
Months earlier, Robinson posted a photo of himself holding an American flag. One person commented that it was a fine photo as long as it wasn't a Trump flag. Robinson replied, "I got one."
Newsweek reached out to Robinson's agent for comment via email but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Voter registration records reviewed by Newsweek show Robinson is a registered Republican in Louisiana, where he grew up. The registration date was September 2024 and comes after Robinson didn't declare a party when he registered in the state in 2020.
It's unclear though if Robinson actually supports the president. He commented on another TikTok video that he was just trolling and in an interview, didn't seem to have strong feelings about Trump attending the game.
Robinson told ESPN ahead of the game that it was "cool, I guess," that Trump was in the stands for the third game of the championship series.
"We can still get out there and play [no matter] who's here and who's not," he said.
In 2018, Robinson’s now-teammate Karl-Anthony Towns criticized Trump for calling LeBron James unintelligent. He also posted on Twitter, now called X, that Trump should “stop using them twitter fingers and get stuff done for our country with that pen.”
"So let me get this straight: Flint, MI has dirty water still, but you worried about an interview about a man doing good for education and generations of kids in his hometown?" Towns posted.
When someone asked Robinson on TikTok how he gets along with Towns, he responded with a shrugged shoulders emoji. Towns largely ignored the question about the impact Trump would have on the game, instead telling reporters ahead of Game 3 that the team was focused on keeping hope alive in New York City and delivering for their fans.
Knicks forward OG Anunoby said Trump will likely just “be there watching the game,” and wouldn’t change how the team plays because they’re going to try to win either way.
Trump was booed by fans outside the arena when the motorcade arrived and when he was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem. However, supporters of the president pointed to the cheers of “USA!” ahead of the national anthem as evidence that patriots were in the audience. The chant has been heard at Trump's rallies, although, there's no indication that it was specifically a chant in support of the president.
Some Knicks fans were particularly upset about Trump's attendance because of the increased security measures around Madison Square Garden. Along with people attending the game being told to arrive early to account for additional time being needed to get into the arena, watch parties that had been held outside of the Garden were canceled because it was deemed too much of a security threat. People were also prevented from even walking within a few blocks of the arena if they weren't a ticket holder.
Knicks guard Jose Alvarado told ESPN that "we improvise," with regard to the watch party having to be moved to Bryant Park.
“We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing," Alvarado, who grew up in New York, said.
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 11:09 PM.