Easy like Monday morning
By 
The zeitgeist is a fickle mistress, and when you’ve lost Stephen A:
New York Knicks fans in Madison Square Garden received President Trump, a longtime fan and once one of their own, the same way they welcomed the visiting San Antonio Spurs ahead of Game Three of the NBA Finals.
A chorus of boos rained down when the president appeared on the jumbotron saluting from a private box during the national anthem. It wasn’t unexpected given New York City is a liberal enclave. But it comes as Trump’s grip on the culture shows signs of slipping.
“It is ridiculous that he is coming to this game,” said ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith in complaining about the tightened security and lengthy lines Trump’s presence created around the stadium. “If it causes the New York Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him.”
The celebratory air that Trump brought to the party has dissipated ever since his cultural cachet hit its zenith around his second inauguration. Country music superstar Carrie Underwood sang at the ceremony after rapper Snoop Dogg performed at a ball days before it. Podcasters and influencers, who propelled him into office, cheered him unabashedly while professional athletes celebrated big plays with “the Trump shuffle.”
Now Trump’s influence in entertainment circles shows signs of waning. Several artists recently pulled out from a semiquincentennial concert series—organized by the Trump-aligned group Freedom 250—over concerns about its political ties. Trump’s takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hit a wall. A judge last month ordered his name stripped from it and halted his plan to close it for renovation. The snag prompted the president to retreat and say he would turn the center over to Congress.
Trump’s setbacks on the culture front come amid a dip in his approval ratings and growing concerns over his handling of the economy. Several high-profile podcasting allies have turned on Trump over the war in Iran and his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, among other issues.
“I can’t imagine going out there singing ‘Easy like Sunday morning’ basically at a MAGA rally when I look at what’s going on,” said Brent Carter, the co-lead singer of the funk and soul group the Commodores. The band originally signed on to perform at the Freedom 250 concert series and pulled out, Carter said, after seeing backlash online.
A lot of breathless early commentary about Trump’s alleged political and cultural mandate was silly even at the time and has evidently worn terribly. But it’s also worth noting that the extent of Trump’s collapse is the result of his being high on his own supply. One can imagine an alternate universe in which Trump focuses on border security rather than internal paramilitary invasions, didn’t do any stupid wars nobody wants, and just sat back at let the media give him credit for Biden’s economy with maybe a few token tariffs. A Trump who did this would not be popular per se, but this would be a universe in which he was popular enough that the Senate would be bulletproof and Trump’s successor would have the chance to consolidate at least some of the demographic gains Trump made in 2024. But Trump acted like this was another Mark Burnett show, and here we are. And what’s funny is that not only hardcore MAGA people but the urban anti-anti-Trump set don’t seem to have any idea how much the ground has already shifted against them.